Crude ligninolytic enzyme extracts from Phanerochaete chrysosporium fungi were applied to sugarcane bagasse, prior to thermomechanical (TMP) and chemithermomechanical pulping (CTMP), and their properties were compared with the normal TMP and CTMP and also with TMP and CTMP pretreated with Ceriporiopsis subvermispora and P. chrysosporium fungi. The sugarcane bagasse was impregnated with the crude enzyme extract containing lignin peroxidase (LiP), manganese peroxidase (MnP), and laccase (Lac). The results show that pretreatment with enzyme crude extract is an advantageous way to produce TMP and CTMP from sugarcane bagasse, as compared with only fungal pretreatment. Enzymatic pretreatments need only hours to enhance pulping and paper properties, compared with the weeks necessary for fungal treatments. Higher pulp yields were obtained compared with the fungal pretreatments. Enzymatic pretreatment reduced the energy consumption in a proportion similar to that of C. subvermispora fungal pretreatment and increased the pulp tensile index compared with the normal TMP and CTMP pulps, although the tensile strength was somewhat lower than that for pulps from C. subvermispora fungal pretreatment before CTMP processing. An advantage of enzymatic pretreatment is that brightness is increased compared with normal TMP and CTMP processes, whereas fungal pretreatments reduce the brightness.

ResumenEste trabajo presenta una alternativa de uso industrial del pinzote (centro leñoso del racimo de banano) como fuente de fibra para la estructuración de papel. El pinzote se considera residuo agroindustrial en los países productores de banano, material que representa el 2.8 % del racimo en la variedad de Musa balbisiana y el 4.4 % en la de Musa acuminata. Por sus características similares a la del bagazo caña de azúcar, se utilizó un proceso químico similar al empleado para obtener fibras a partir de este material. El proceso de obtención de fibras se llevó a cabo de acuerdo a un diseño experimental factorial, diseño que permite relacionar variables las independientes (tiempo de cocción, concentración de reactivo) en cuatro niveles con variables independientes (rendimiento, consumo de reactivos, rechazo y lignina residual). El pinzote de Musa acuminata requiere menor temperatura y reactivo para liberar las fibras con respecto al pinzote de Musa balbisiana. Por lo tanto, el rendimiento en fibra para Musa acuminata es mayor al de Musa balbisiana. Palabras claves: pinzote, lignina, tiempo de cocción, Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana RACHIS of Muse balbisiana and Muse acuminata as Source of Fibers for Paper Structure AbstractThis work presents an alternative of industrial use of the banana rachis (the woody center of the cluster of bananas), as source of fibers for the structure of paper. Banana rachis is considered to be an agroindustrial residue in producing countries of banana it represents 2.8 % of the cluster of Muse balbisiana and 4.4 % of the cluster of Muse acuminata. The physical and chemical structure of the rachis is almost simliar to that of the sugar cane so a chemical process similar to that employed to obtain fibers from the sugar bagasse cane was used. An experimental factorial design that allows the correlation of independent variables (cooking time, reagent concentration) in four levels with response parameters (yield, reagents consumption, rejects and residual lignin) was adopted. The rachis of Muse acuminata needs lower temperature and less reagent consumption to liberate fibers in comparison with the rachis of Muse balbisiana. Therefore yield of the fibbers from Musa acuminata is major than that of the fibbers from Musa balbisiana.