Application of the Pitzer method in estimating the properties of black liquor solutions • a summary, 2010 TAPPI/PAPTAC International Chemical Recovery Conference

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The Pitzer method for calculating activity coefficients in aqueous electrolyte solutions has been widely applied to modeling the properties of numerous industrial systems. Its use in hot, concentrated solutions, an example being black liquor from kraft pulping process, has nevertheless been limited mainly due to a lack of suitable interaction parameters.

This paper summarizes our work in implementing the Pitzer method into modeling of double salt solubilities and boiling point rise in industrial black liquors. Two solubility models: for burkeite, Na₂CO₃·2Na₂SO₄ and for (sodium sulfate) dicarbonate, 2Na₂CO₃·Na₂SO₄ were developed based on literature and experimental data, respectively. Boiling point rise was modeled in two types of black liquor: ordinary and lignin-lean after a lignin precipitation stage. The paper also presents our study on a method for estimating new Pitzer interaction parameters in hot solutions of sodium lactate using the boiling point rise data.