Biodeinking of the Mixed Office Paper Using the Microbial Consortia Developed and Formulated From the UNIMAS Microbial Collection

• Main Author: Choo, Eliane Yuan Syn
• Format: Final Year Project Report
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, UNIMAS 2010
• Subjects: GE Environmental Sciences
• Online Access: http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/7808/4/ELIANE%20CHOO%20YUAN%20SYN%20ft.pdf; http://ir.unimas.my/id/eprint/7808/

One of the main obstacles in paper recycling is the removal of ink particles- the deinking process. Conventional deinking using chemicals may cause environment problems and pose potential health hazard. Thus, biodeinking emerged as an alternative to chemical deinking. Biodeinking involves the usage of enzymes for the deinking process. Studies have shown that microorganisms such as Vibrio sp. and fungi can be used in biodeinking as they produce enzymes (pectinases, hemicellulases and cellulases) that facilitate the ink removal. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate the ability of Bacillus spp. in biodeinking of mixed office papers, using a consortium of Bacillus spp. The Bacillus spp studied were Bacillus licheniformis P7, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens UMAS 1002, Bacillus pumillus, Bacillus spp. isolate M5 and isolate M7. The consortium was formulated based on their ability to withstand high temperature and alkali condition and the deinking efficiency. Deinking efficiency was evaluated based on the enzyme activity, which was measured by the DNS method. The enzymes investigated in this study were CMCase and FPase. From the trial deinking, B. amyloliquefaciens UMAS 1002, Bacillus spp. isolate M5 and isolate M7 were among the high enzyme producers and the combination C9, which consists of this three species was the most ideal bacteria consortia for the deinking. From the study, it was deduced that biodeinking using Bacillus spp. in combination was better than using them individually. As there was no obvious significant difference for the deinking efficiency between chemical deinking and biodeinking, enzymatic deinking should be given priority as it can reduce chemicals usage and more environmental friendly.