Abstract: A process is provided for reducing the requirement of fresh chemicals without increasing emissions in the pulping of cellulosic material with alkaline sodium- and sulfur-containing-sulfate pulping liquor, which comprises evaporating and burning spent sulfate pulping liquor to obtain a smelt; dissolving the resulting smelt in water to form a sodium-sulfide-sodium carbonate-containing solution green liquor; regenerating pulping white liquor containing sodium sulfide and sodium hydroxide from said green liquor; and recirculating said regenerated white liquor to the pulping stage; oxidizing at least one of the resulting green and white liquors to form sodium thiosulfate therein; reacting the oxidized liquor with residual acid liquor, from the manufacture of chlorine dioxide by reduction of an alkali metal chlorate solution, to convert thiosulfate to sulfur dioxide and sulfur; removing and recovering formed sulfur dioxide; and returning the residual liquor, freed from sulfur dioxide, to the pulping.

Abstract: A cyclic process is provided for utilizing sodium values in sulfate cellulose pulping, in which sodium losses normally are less than sodium additions to the process, thus tending to build up a sodium surplus, and which includes the steps of pulping cellulosic material with a pulping liquor comprising sodium hydroxide and sodium sulfide, separating spent pulping black liquor, evaporating and combusting the black liquor to recover sodium values as sodium sulfide and sodium carbonate, dissolving the sulfide and sodium carbonate in water to form green liquor, causticizing the green liquor with calcium hydroxide to form white liquor, and recycling white liquor to form pulping liquor, the improvement comprising maintaining sodium balance at least in part by removing sodium values as white liquor, oxidizing the white liquor with air at an elevated temperature, and utilizing the oxidized white liquor as a source of alkali in another cellulose pulp treatment process.