RESIN DEGRADATION AND BIOPULPING - BIOTEC HNOLOGICAL PROCESSES FOR THE PULP AND PAPER-INDUSTRY

The present paper relates to novel biotechnological processes for the pulp and paper industry. By pretreating wood chips with selectively li gnin-degrading white-rot fungi an improvement in strength properties a nd energy savings in mechanical pulping and reductions in Kappa number , cooking time and bleaching chemicals as well as a brightness increas e in chemical pulping can be achieved on a laboratory scale. Additiona lly, the resin content has been reduced by 30 per cent. The possibilit ies of a resin reduction by the use of enzymes or living fungi are bei ng discussed. Lipase (''Resinase'') has advantages in controlling the process, while the fungal process (''Cartapip'') offers advantages by a more comprehensive degradation and increases in brightness and yield . Both processes have been tested by just a few companies on a commerc ial scale. It has been found that the same amount of resin is degraded in biopulping as by Cartapip.