Enzyme-aided Hydrogen Peroxide Bleaching of Mechanical Pulp

Irving Paper Ltd. is one of the leading manufacturers in the world in making value-added specialty paper (SC) from mechanical pulp which is conventionally used for newsprint. SC paper requires not only more refining (energy) in fibre preparation but also higher brightness of the produced pulp, which adds more to the pulp production costs. Dr. U’s group at the University of New Brunswick has been collaborating with Irving on improving refining energy efficiency through applying biotechnologies (enzymes) in the mechanical refining process. The positive research results has inspired this further research collaboration, i.e, applying biotechnologies in pulp bleaching process. This proposed Mitacs internship project will particularly investigate how enzymes can be utilized for improving bleaching performance and for reducing the overall bleaching cost. The project will also thorough investigate the current bleaching process at Irving and develop strategies for improving the bleaching efficiency through simple process modification.

Faculty Supervisor:

Kecheng Li

Student:

Yu Zhao

Partner:

Irving Paper Ltd.

Discipline:

Engineering - chemical / biological

Sector:

Alternative energy

University:

University of New Brunswick