The need of paper industry biocides: alternative prospects.

IM is wondering: are there any other sector of process industry, where microbes are allowed to grow like in paper industry?

Biotechnological processes, of course. But their populations are carefully selected and controlled. And they are employers of the company, not criminals trying to cause harm to the company.

Some significant changes in paper industry processes have taken place after the rise of active environmental care. Both the closure of water circulation and the cancelling of biocides having mercury as an active incredient are favorable for the environment, of course. But the microbial growth inside the paper machines has activated at the same time.

The beginning of neutral paper production led to an "ecocatastrophe" inside paper machines. The rise of pH value (as well as the rise of temperature, caused by the extended recirculation of water) was fatal for slow, acid-loving fungal growth. New mineral additives are an important source of certain types of bacteria, causing severe problems like production of slime, spoiling of the process compounds and hygiene faults of the products.

IM has published an article "Paper Machine: an Ecosystem and a Bioreactor" (INOCULA 1/2007. Helsinki, Finland). Many readers agree: paper machines offer ecological niches for bacteria, and the controlled environments of wet end circulations are very much similar with those of biotechnical processes, based on chemostatic fermentors.

A lot could be do to make paper machines more unfavorable growth environment for microbial contaminants. Very good results have been achieved in some projects where ecological aspects have been taken into account. These issues will be discussed later in this blog.

But the main question is: how much biocides we still need to control the microbial growth in all regions of a paper machine?

Incoming raw materials, sorry to say, may be very contaminated: the highest value of total count during IM's career has been over 100 000 000 cfu/g in a mineral slurry (which was fortunately replaced by a fresh lot by the supplier!). It is therefore obvious that a continuous control - both analytical and practical - is needed for starches, mineral pigments and other contaminated raw materials. This does not mean that all lots are spoiled: there are suppliers which know their response to deliver pure products to the mills but all kind of errors in biocidic pre-treatment, transport and storage of these products may happen.

Certain sites of paper machines also need biocidic treatments all the time. Chosing proper solutions for biocide programs (type of biocide, active compound, dosing sites, timing etc.) of a paper machine is a challenging tasks. In best cases, both the paper mill and biocide personnel are sitting down and discussing of the individual problems of the paper process hygiene.

When specified laboratory services, having tools like PMEU and biofilm microscopy, are included, the final result can be optimal one. Paper industry microbiologists can also help significantly by declaring the effects of process parameters on the growth of planktonic and biofilm bacteria.

The more competence is included, the better solution will be find.

Updating our biotechnology forecasts - some practical topics.

I will come back to the future of biotechnology.

The economical figures of traditional industries seem to be awful. We will see, what is the condition of such branches like paper, automobile and communication enterprises in 2010.

The optimistic view into biotechnology, presented by Osmo Kuusi in 1991, should be reviewed soon.

Another positive attitude has been presented by Tom Abate in "The Biotech Investor", published in 2003 and found by me under a layer of dust in the library of Jyväskylä University (Tom Abate 2003. The Biotech Investor: how to profit from the coming boom in biotechnology. Owl Books, New York).

Tom Abate tells about sectors of biotechnology like the previous authors, discovering this area. He calls them "The Genomics Wave", "The Proteomics Wave" , "The Biotech Toolmakers", "Green Genes", "The New Factories", "Brave New Worlds" and "The Biotech Clusters".

What these titles include, I'll try to explain whenever I have red this interesting book.

Before that, I have good news:

The leading newspaper in Central Finland, Keskisuomalainen, tells about the manufacturers of small-scale waste water treatment plants. Finnish legislations says that all small houses shall update their ww treatment systems before the end of 2013.

The count of these households is est. 300 000 in Finland!

Not to name the individual enterprises, there are a couple of small companies manufacturing/importing batch-type activated sludge systems in a small scale in our country. Two larger companies, having Finnish background, also exists.

Novel ideas to control the effluents of these mini-plants, like PMEU, already exist, but the questions of evaluation, standardization etc. will have a sever effect on the application of these methods.

I think that it is now time for the Finnish government to accept these analytical methods to be applied by small-scale treatment plant producers.

Colony counts, developed in the beginning of 20th century, are valuable. But what we are needing today are the rapid methods for the control of both activated sludge itself and the effluents of these equipments.

Verenium to launch largest commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant; $250 million 36 Mgy Florida project starts this year : Biofuels Digest

I haven't written a lot about biofuels this year. The decreasing price of oil is an influential factor. Certainly, the economic crisis has impacted investments in the field of biofuels production. But that area isn't completely dead. Things are happening.

Verenium to launch largest commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant; $250 million 36 Mgy Florida project starts this year : Biofuels Digest: "In Florida, Verenium announced that it would commence construction of what it termed the first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant. The facility will be located in Highlands County, between Orlando and Lake Okeechobee.

The company said that it would receive $7 million in support for the project from the state of Florida’s Farm-to-Fuel fund, and expected to break ground on the 36 Mgy facility in the second half of the year. The project will cost between $250 and $300 million and will use non-food grasses as feedstock.

The company’s 1.4 Mgy demonstration-scale plant in Jennings, Louisiana commenced production this month , and capping off an excellent start to the year was news from NASDAQ that the company was once again in compliance with the exchange’s minimum market cap of $50 million. The company announced $133 million in losses in the third quarter."

I am starting my working again after a several days' flu by reading "The Paper Index Times". Updating the current situation in P&P is easiest by this way.

The columns by Jim Thompson, writing "Nip Impressions" (see http://news.paperindex.com/category/Blogs_Columns) are always very interesting. I would like to refer a chapter of his last issue here:

You may think it is self-serving (read: old Jim does not want the competition) to tell you to avoid consulting, but my real reason for saying this is consulting, unless you have some very special well known skills, is a daunting business to enter and be successful. I tell people coming to me seeking advice on this subject the following: If you like to write, and can do so quickly and expertly, and you like to be on job interviews, come on in, the water's fine. General consulting consists of two activities: writing and interviewing for your next assignment. It is hard work. On the other hand, if you have a particular exquisite skill and are well known, you can be a success. I once knew a gentleman capable of making any old winder run, no matter how decrepit. He was in high demand, so high of demand he decided to double his rates to see if he could reduce his workload. All he did was double his income. If he had thought, there was a hint of his "problem" staring him in the face: when the mill I worked at needed him, corporate would send their private jet to fetch him, no matter where he was, and bring him to our mill. This is a reputation you can retire on.

This is something which I have wondered over a period of several years.

Consulting, performed by individual specialists or small, private institutions would be very favorable for big companies today. As discussed several times in my blog before (and is worth to repeat) is the challenge of big P&P companies to have benefit by buying rapid services from independent sector of R&D.

All the sad news about closing R&D centres give an impression of fatal view ito future: nothing can be developed anymore. Research is all in vain. But this is not the truth.

There are always ideas growing on among researchers, no matter economical situation is alarming. And it is easy to understand: researchers have adopted a positive view also in problem situations during their studies and career. Just thinking about trouble shooting of machines which would not run: you will continue your task until you find some solution. This IP is something which should be valuated and used today, no matter your "Profit 200X did not have any significant success.

If you are working for P&P, you have to be optimistic. Otherwise you do not survive.