Iron-TAML® catalysts in the pulp and paper industry

Here we report on a novel catalytic approach to removing color from the effluent derived from the bleaching process of bleached kraft pulp mills. First we show how an Fe-TAML catalyst with hydrogen peroxide, after laboratory simulation, can be used at a pulp mill as an effective end-of-pipe treatment to decolorize the effluent water from the caustic extraction stage of a chlorine-based bleaching process. Then we show laboratory experimentation for applying the Fe-TAML catalyst in the El extraction stage of the bleaching process itself. The goal of this second treatment type is to obviate the need for the previously described end-of-pipe treatment. The details regarding the benefits that a Fe-TAML/H 2 O 2 system could have on mill operations will be discussed.