Microbial Enzymes and Their Application in Pulp and Paper Industry

Abstract

In recent years, there is an increase in global industrial utilization of wastepapers in the production of new one in which pulp and paper industries become one of the largest consumers of wood. Human needs result in harvesting of more trees with waste accumulation for proper disposal, which is a threat to global warming. The application of enzymes in deinking of recovered wastepapers is the major potential enzymatic applications in pulp and paper industries. Enzymes from either bacteria or fungi such as cellulase, xylanase, hemicellulase, pectinase, laccase, amylase, and lipase can be used to deink office wastepapers by enzymatic discharge of the ink particles from fiber surface or hydrolysis of the ink carrier. The lignifying enzymes and others being eco-friendly in nature hence provide a substantial way out to lessen the burden of employing toxic bleaching agents and other chemicals, thus helping in reducing deforestation and the release of harmful treatment effluents and correspondingly improving the quality and brightness of the bleached pulp. In this chapter, critical studies on the applications of microbial enzymes used for deinking of wastepapers in pulp and paper industries were examined.