The use of enzymes in the pulp and paper industry has grown rapidly since the mid 1980s. Currently the most important application of enzymes is in the prebleaching of kraft pulp. Xylanase enzymes have been found to be most effective for that purpose. Xylanase prebleaching technology is now in use at several mills worldwide. The enzymatic pitch control method using lipase was put into practice in a large-scale paper-making process as a routine operation in the early 1990s and was the first case in the world in which an enzyme was successfully applied in the actual paper-making process. Improvement of pulp drainage with enzymes is practiced routinely at mill scale. Enzymatic deinking has also been successfully applied during mill trials and can be expected to expand in application as increasing amounts of newsprint must be deinked and recycled.

• >> Enzymes for deinking, refining, bleaching and starch liquefaction processes
• >> Significant savings in chemical application
• >> Improved brightness and strength properties
• >> Reduction in BOD, COD levels
• >> Eco-friendly, easy to handle