The Potential of Energy Efficiency on Recycle Paper Bioprocess

The increasing use of recycled paper by the paper industry to support the Green Industry in the Indonesian Pulp and Paper Industry. But technically, there are some disadvantages of recycled fiber usage such as low drainage rate in which boosted the high energy consumption on drying process. As already known, the drying process consumes the highest energy in papermaking. To overcome this problem, the research using the concentrate of endoglucanase Egl-II has done. The steps of research included production of endoglucanase Egl-II; concentration by ultrafiltration method, modification of recycled paper fibers using endoglucanase Egl-II; characterization of paper sheet; and evaluation of energy consumption in drying the sheet of paper. The results showed that endoglucanase Egl-II had increase drainage rate of recycled fiber stock, which indicate by the freeness number. The number had increased by 80 ml CSF (Canadian Standard Freeness) from 190 ml CSF to 270 ml CSF, and fiber retention increased by 0,63% from 99,31% to 99,94%. The dissolved cellobiose test results of recycled fiber stock by the enzyme treatment at low dosage showed that no degradation of cellulose, no change into soluble sugars. Characterization of sheet of paper that has been modified with endoglucanase Egl-II based FTIR spectra showed no change in functional group, SEM results showed on the fiber surface fibrils grow more, and the results of the XRD analysis showed area reduction of amorphous regions is about 6%. The potential for energy efficiency is calculated through thermodynamic approach is about 15%.