Application of Photoacoustic Rapid Scan FTIR for the Determination of Kappa Number of Pulp

High-yield Pinus radiate kraft pulps with various Kappa number were produced from flow-through laboratory pulping. The samples were prepared and scanned using a rapid scan photoacoustic Fourier transform infrared (PAS-FTIR) spectrometer. A partial-least-squares (PLS) model was established based on the spectral data collected at different mirror velocities. The model was used to predict the Kappa number of the pulps and its robustness was statistically evaluated. The outcomes indicate that the PLS model can be used to predict the Kappa number of Pinus radiata kraft pulps with a high degree of accuracy provided that the moving mirror velocity is ${\leq}\;0.5cm/s$.