Size and chemical characterization of pulp and paper mill effluents by flow field‐flow fractionation and resin adsorption techniques

Abstract

Effluents from various streams within two pulp and paper mills situated in south‐eastern Australia have been characterized using flow field‐flow fractionation (flow FFF) and nonpolar resin adsorption methods (Amberlite XAD‐8). The flow FFF analyses showed that different effluent streams can have very different molecular weight distributions. Effluents from the wood pulping process contained the highest molecular weight components with weight average values of up to 11000 Dalton. Up to 75% by weight of the dissolved organic matter in this spent pulp liquor consisted of hydrophobic compounds which adsorb to the XAD‐8 resin at pH 2.