In some embodiments, a method may include reducing the microbial load in contaminated water of water recycle loops. These water recycling loops may include pulp and paper mills, cooling towers and water loops, evaporation ponds, feedstock processing systems and/or non-potable water systems. The methods may include providing a peracetate oxidant solution. The peracetate solution may include peracetate anions and a peracid. In some embodiments, the peracetate solution may include a pH from about pH 10 to about pH 12. In some embodiments, the peracetate solution has a molar ratio of peracetate anions to peracid ranging from about 60:1 to about 6000:1. In some embodiments, the peracetate solution has a molar ratio of peracetate to hydrogen peroxide of greater than about 16:1. The peracetate solution may provide bleaching, sanitizing and/or disinfection of contaminated water and surfaces. The peracetate oxidant solution may provide enhanced separation of microbes from contaminated water.

Stabilized compositions employing a sequestrant system and a binding system for improving shelf stability and dispensing stability of a solid activated bleach composition are disclosed. The compositions contain a peroxygen source and a catalyst activator which require generation of a peroxycarboxylic acid or other active oxygen sanitizing agent at a point of use. Stabilized compositions employ a sequestrant system including a phosphonic acid and/or dipicolinic acid sequestrant and a binding system comprising an anionic surfactant for a solid formulation of a catalyst activator and peroxygen source to provide shelf stability and dispensing stability for a activated bleach composition. Methods of formulating and use are further disclosed.

In a process for producing bleached mechanical woodpulp, said process comprising the steps of

a) delaminating comparatively large particles of wood, which have optionally been pretreated with chemicals and/or water, into modified particles of wood,

b) grinding the modified particles of wood from a) in one or more refiners,

c) optionally treating the stalk obtained in step b) with oxidative or reductive bleaching agents, a composition Z is present during step a) and/or step b), said composition Z comprising one or more of the following components (Z1) to (Z3): a salt of dithionous acid H.sub.2S.sub.2O.sub.4(Z1), a dithionous acid or dithionous acid derivative generator compound (Z2), a salt of sulfurous acid (sulfite) plus sodium tetraborohydride (Z3) and also optionally additives (Z4).

A high efficiency bleaching method for cellulosic pulp includes: (a) providing a charge of aqueous cellulosic pulp to a bleaching vessel at a consistency of from 10% to 30% along with a peroxy bleaching agent and an alkaline agent effective to adjust pH of the charge to 9.5 to 12.5; and (b) bleaching the aqueous cellulosic pulp in the bleaching vessel while maintaining a bleaching temperature of from 110° F. (43° C.) to 135° F. (57° C.) and a pH of the charge from 9.5 to 12.5 for an extended bleaching retention time. The bleaching method is advantageously used to bleach low brightness recycle pulp, and/or as part of a multistage process with bleaching stages of lesser duration, and/or as a high peroxy efficiency, low dose bleaching process or in connection with concurrently storing and bleaching pulp.

In some embodiments, a method may include treating pulp in pulp and paper mills. The methods may include providing a peracetate oxidant solution and generating a reactive oxygen species. The peracetate solution may include peracetate anions and a peracid. In some embodiments, the peracetate solution may include a pH from about pH 10 to about pH 12. In some embodiments, the peracetate solution has a molar ratio of peracetate anions to peracid ranging from about 60:1 to about 6000:1. In some embodiments, the peracetate solution has a molar ratio of peracetate to hydrogen peroxide of greater than about 16:1. The peracetate oxidant solution may provide enhanced treatment methods of bleaching, brightening, and delignifying pulp fibers involving the use of peracetate oxidant solutions.

In a process for producing bleached mechanical woodpulp, said process comprising the steps of a) delaminating comparatively large particles of wood, which have optionally been pretreated with chemicals and/or water, into modified particles of wood, b) grinding the modified particles of wood from a) in one or more refiners, c) optionally treating the stalk obtained in step b) with oxidative or reductive bleaching agents, a composition Z is present during step a) and/or step b), said composition Z comprising one or more of the following components (Z1) to (Z3): a salt of dithionous acid H.sub.2S.sub.2O.sub.4 (Z1), a dithionous acid or dithionous acid derivative generator compound (Z2), a salt of sulfurous acid (sulfite) plus sodium tetraborohydride (Z3) and also optionally additives (Z4).

Disclosed are non-wood pulps having a fiber length greater than about 1.70 mm and a brightness of about 80% or greater. The relatively high degree of brightness is achieved without a loss fiber length or pulp yield. The high degree of brightness and relatively long fiber length makes the pulps well suited for the manufacture of wet-laid fibrous products, particularly wet-laid tissue products. The pulps may be prepared from plants of the family Asparagaceae by mechanical pulping and more preferably by a chemi-mechanical pulping using a sodium hydroxide alkaline peroxide solution where the primary pulp is cleaned to reduce debris prior to bleaching. Preferably the cleaned primary pulp has less than about 5% debris prior to bleaching.

A high efficiency bleaching method for cellulosic pulp includes: (a) providing a charge of aqueous cellulosic pulp to a bleaching vessel at a consistency of from 10% to 30% along with a peroxy bleaching agent and an alkaline agent effective to adjust pH of the charge to 9.5 to 12.5; and (b) bleaching the aqueous cellulosic pulp in the bleaching vessel while maintaining a bleaching temperature of from 110 F. (43 C.) to 135 F. (57 C.) and a pH of the charge from 9.5 to 12.5 for an extended bleaching retention time. The bleaching method is advantageously used to bleach low brightness recycle pulp, and/or as part of a multistage process with bleaching stages of lesser duration, and/or as a high peroxy efficiency, low dose bleaching process or in connection with concurrently storing and bleaching pulp.

Stabilized compositions employing a sequestrant system and a binding system for improving shelf stability and dispensing stability of a solid activated bleach composition are disclosed. The compositions contain a peroxygen source and a catalyst activator which require generation of a peroxycarboxylic acid or other active oxygen sanitizing agent at a point of use. Stabilized compositions employ a sequestrant system including a phosphonic acid and/or dipicolinic acid sequestrant and a binding system comprising an anionic surfactant for a solid formulation of a catalyst activator and peroxygen source to provide shelf stability and dispensing stability for a activated bleach composition. Methods of formulating and use are further disclosed.

A pulp in accordance with a particular embodiment includes crosslinked cellulose fibers. The pulp can have high brightness, reactivity, and intrinsic viscosity. The pulp, therefore, can be well suited for use as a precursor in the production of low-color, high-viscosity cellulose derivatives. A method in accordance with a particular embodiment of the present technology includes forming a pulp from a cellulosic feedstock, bleaching the pulp, crosslinking cellulose fibers within the pulp while the pulp has a high consistency, and drying the pulp. The bleaching process can reduce a lignin content of the pulp to less than or equal to 0.09% by oven-dried weight of the crosslinked cellulose fibers. Crosslinking the cellulose fibers can include exposing the cellulose fibers to a glycidyl ether crosslinker having two or more glycidyl groups and a molecular weight per epoxide within a range from 140 to 175.