Endoglucanase enzymatic modification of kraft pulp during recycling

To investigate the cellulose modification process on kraft pulp during recycling by mono-endoglucanase.

Pichia pastoris expressing endoglucanase, EG1, was grown in a 10 l fermenter yielding a high carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) activity of 340 U mg(-1). EG1-mediated modification of kraft pulp resulted in a paper sheet with the tensile index and burst index increased by 10 and 6.5 %, respectively. The kink index (indicating abrupt bends in fibres) of the enzyme-treated group decreased sharply by 45 % after the first recycling, compared with a reduction of only 1 % in the control group. Furthermore, EG1 treatment decreased the growth of crystallinity from 73.5 to 73.2 % and crystal size from 7.45 to 7.21 nm, which alleviated paper aging.

Endoglucanase EG1 modifies the interfacial properties of fibers, which affects fibre morphology during the recycling process and improves the technical properties of the resulting pulp and paper.