Effect of pretreatment using microorganism on production of pulp from oil palm trunk

Abstract

Evaluation on the production of pulp from oil palm trunk (OPT) using microorganism was investigated based on pulp yield, screened pulp yield, kappa number and strength of the paper produced. The fungi used were Aspergillus sp., fungal strain from rubberwood and white rot fungi. Fungal growth was measured in radial extension of the mycelium. The OPT chips were exposed to various fungi between 9 and 36 days and then the chips were pulped mechanically. Pulp yield and screened pulp yield decreased as the exposure time to microorganism increased. However, the kappa number became lower after longer exposure, while the paper strength increased. Micromorphological structure of wood chips and pulp produced were analysed using SEM. It was found that these fungal species were well colonised in OPT chips especially in vessel elements. The reaction time and fungal species were in general relative to the properties and yield of the resultant pulps.