Bleaching of Kraft Bagasse Pulp in Presence of Polyoxometalate Catalyst

The catalytic effect of molybdovandophosphate heteropolyanion (HPAs) on the delignification of kraft bagasse pulp by hydrogen peroxide has been investigated. Very small amounts of the catalyst (0.05 0.3 mM/l) gave convenient results. Partial reduction of the catalyst was also studied. The effect of reaction medium (water, ethyl alcohol and acetone) on the bleaching was also studied. The results obtained show that the optimum condition for bleaching in presence of polyoxometalate were 0.05 mM/l catalyst concentration at $70^{\circ}C$ reaction temperature and $7\%$ consistency at pH 2 in aqueous medium. The ratio of water to solvent of 60:40 from acetone gives higher brightness than ethyl alcohol. The catalyst solution can be reused for 5 times without any reduction in brightness. ESR for the blank and exhausted solutions under different conditions was also carried out to find the relation between reduced metals and pulp brightness.