An overview of biopulping consortia research
- USDA Forest Service, Madison, WI (United States)
This paper provides an overview of a 8-year biopulping research effort conducted under the auspices of two biopulping consortia, involving the Universities of Wisconsin and Minnesota, the Forest Products Laboratory, and the industry. Biopulping, defined as the fungal pretreatment of wood chips for pulping, is an environmentally benign process that saves at least 30% electrical energy during mechanical refining, and improves paper quality in a 2-week period during laboratory trials. A rapid method of evaluating the benefits of biopulping has been found using the Simons staining procedures. We have identified a white-rot fungus Ceriporiopsis subvermispora which is effective on both hardwood and softwood species. This fungus can perform biopulping effectively if chips are steamed using the atmospheric steam for a very short period of time prior to fungal inoculation. Also, one of the major costs during the scale-up of biopulping is inoculum production. To this end, we have reduced the amount of inoculum dramatically (from 3 kg to 0.25 g dry weight of fungus per ton of dry wood) by adding corn steep liquor to the mycelial suspension. Current research is focused on large-scale decontamination of chips and maintenance of suitable temperature, aeration and moisture in chip piles so that biopulping can become a successful industrial process.
- OSTI ID:
- 370058
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-960376-; TRN: 96:003805-0108
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Spring national meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), New Orleans, LA (United States), 24-28 Mar 1996; Other Information: PBD: 1996; Related Information: Is Part Of 211th ACS national meeting; PB: 2284 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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