An Overview of Biopulping Research : Discovery and Engineering

Biopulping is defined as the treatment of wood chips with lignin-degrading fungi prior to pulping. Fungal pretreatment prior to mechanical pulping reduces electrical energy requirements during refining or increases mill throughput, improves paper strength, reduces the pitch content, and reduces the environmental impact of pulping. Our recent work involved scaling up the biopulping process towards the industrial level, investigating both the engineering and economic feasibility. We envision the process to be done in either a chip-pile or silo-based system for which several factors need to be considered: the degree of decontamination, a hospitable environment for the fungus, and the overall process economics. Currently, treatment of the chips with low-pressure steam is sufficient for decontamination and a simple, forced ventilation system maintains the proper temperature, humidity, and moisture conditions, thus promoting uniform growth of the fungus. The pilot-scale trial resulted in the successful treatment of 4 tons of wood chips (dry weight basis) with results comparable to those on a laboratory. Larger, 40-ton trials were also successful, with energy savings and paper properties comparable with the laboratory scale. The overall economics of the process also look very favorable and can result in significant annual savings to the mill. Although the current research has focused on biopulping for mechanical pulping, it is also beneficial for sulfite chemical pulping and some applications to recycled fiber have been investigated.