Modification of High Lignin Content Kraft Pulps with Laccase to Improve Paper Strength Properties. 1. Laccase Treatment in the Presence of Gallic Acid

Abstract

Laccase was reacted with gallic acid in the presence of a high-kappa (91) kraft pulp. The result was a modified pulp with 34%, 20%, and 72% improvements in burst, tensile, and wet tensile strength compared to untreated control samples. Fully bleached pulps were not responsive to the laccase treatment, indicating lignin was the major target for the fiber modification. The results indicate that the strength increases were a combined effect of improvements of hydrogen bonding between fibers and creation of phenoxy radical cross-links within the sheet.

Wood production, wood technology, and biotechnological impacts

“…Similar results were obtained with ABTS by Elegir et al (2005Elegir et al ( , 2007. Treatment of fibres with laccase and gallic acid were also reported to change wet tensile strength (Chandra et al 2004b), indicating that laccase-mediator system can influence properties of the fibre surfaces. Various mediators are therefore currently tested in MDF production with laccase in order to achieve higher reactivity between laccase and lignin and better board properties .…”

Laccase based de-inking of mixed office waste and evaluation of its impact on physico-optical properties of recycled fiber

“…Recently, laccase has gained significant attention for improving paper properties in general and strength in particular. Several workers have also reported the improvement in tensile strength of the cellulose fibers after laccase treatment of the pulp (Chandra et al 2008;Aracri et al 2011;Ibarra et al 2012;Gupta et al 2015). The present study proposes the use of laccase as a promising supplement of de-inking and paper recycling on the grounds of improving the strength of the fiber which is required for quality paper products.…”

Enzymatic treatments of pulp using laccase and hydrophobic compounds

“…In addition, this LMS is known to improve the optical properties of TCF (Cadena et al, 2010). Other mediators from natural sources have been tested; as bleaching agents , to functionalize cellulose fibres (Aracri et al, 2009;Elegir et al, 2008;Chandra and Ragauskas, 2002;Schroeder et al, 2007) and to improve the physical properties of high-lignin pulp (Chandra et al, 2004;Liu et al, 2009).…”