Biobleaching application of cellulase poor and alkali stable xylanase from Bacillus pumilus SV-85S

The potential of extracellular alkali stable and thermo tolerant xylanase produced by Bacillus pumilus SV-85S through solid state fermentation was investigated in pulp bleaching in association with conventional bleaching using chlorine and chlorine dioxide. The biobleaching of kraft pulp with xylanase was the most effective at an enzyme dose of 10 IU/g oven dried pulp, pH 9.0 and 120 min incubation at 55 degrees C. Under the optimized conditions, xylanase pretreatment reduced Kappa number by 1.6 points and increased brightness by 1.9 points. Subsequently, chlorine dioxide and alkaline bleaching sequences (CDE1D1D2) finally resulted in brightness gain of 2.7 points as compared with the control. The pretreatment of pulp with xylanase resulted in 29.16 % reduction in chlorine consumption by maintaining the same brightness as in control. An improvement in pulp strength properties was also observed after bleaching of xylanase pretreated pulp. Scanning electron microscopy revealed loosening and swelling of pulp fibers after enzyme treatment. These results clearly demonstrated that the B. pumilus SV-85S xylanase was effective as a pulp biobleaching agent. The decrease in chlorine consumption by pretreatment of pulp with xylanase apparently made the biobleaching process not only economical but also eco-friendly.