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.
“The way we're really going to grow the economy is to invest in people, to invest in innovation, to have the government put money in the kind of research that will create the new high-technology, BIOTECHNOLGY industries that will create millions of new jobs.” - Joseph Lieberman-
Showing posts with label microbiology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label microbiology. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Friday, October 17, 2008
A new beginning of P&P industry - in Africa?
I would like to share my new post (from www.industrymicrobiologist@blogspot.com) with the readers and participant of BIOTOUCH concept. Sometimes it is very refreshing to have some time for thinking about an utopia: "What if everything could be started again, taking into account the best, current knowledge of technical, physical, chemical, microbiological and energy topics in paper industry - what would the paper mills be like?"
- Here is my post:
"IM follows frequently the bright blog written by Jim Thompson (http://www.nipimpressions.com/).
His last post discusses about the dark future of Finnish P&P. In opposite, he gives an optimistic forecast: the promising region for the manufacture of pulp and paper could be Africa! After reading his points of view - short but comprehensive - I must agree. Everything could begin once more on this huge continent if only social and political confusions can be won there.
Sitting and thinking - what else? What about a new way to construct paper and board machines? To take into account not only technical issues, but also all chances to have machines which were easier to control and keep clean/safe than these old ones, we are still driving?
There are a lot of relatively simple solutions which can improve the hygiene of raw materials as well as keep wet end area, white water circulation, pulp towers and broke systems cleaner. These ideas were discussed during the professional career of IM and very many wise men (and women) agreed. It has been the question of reconstruction costs which has prevented the realisation of the progress in paper machine development towards cleaner production and processes.
But: what about starting everything once more? To build up machines with clever ON LINE process control and alarm systems? Machines which were easier to clean during production? Machines which even have self-cleaning constructions?
Ozzy Osbourne sings: " I'm a Dreamer" - but what we are lacking just now are the dreams, aren't we?"
Friday, August 15, 2008
BIOTECHNICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL PRODUCTION METHOD AND EQUIPMENT
(WO/2008/081082) BIOTECHNICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL PRODUCTION METHOD AND EQUIPMENT: Background for the invention
Helge: I found this information on Internet. Would you Elias like to comment? What are the practical implications?
In utilizing and studying microbes in industry or medicine or in environmental cleaning, the used microbiological and bacteriological methods in most cases call for the culturing of cells or equivalent in a nutrient substrate before being able to show them, clarifying the effects of their action or getting to a desired production result. This production result may be a cell growth, e.g. for feed or protein, or the formation of one or several desired metabolic products.
LIQUID OR GAS FORM
These products can be in liquid or gas form or they can be separated from a production liquid into solid form by precipitation. The production result of a microbiological reaction can also be the cleaning of environment, like soil or water, or the elimination of a harmful substance from an organism.
NUTRIENT SUBSTRATES
Nutrient substrates contain vital nutrients for microbes and they are designed to be as suitable as possible for the microbes and other organisms to be studied. Plant and animal cells have been started to generally be cultivated with similar methods as microbes.
Helge: I found this information on Internet. Would you Elias like to comment? What are the practical implications?
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| IPC: | C12M 1/04 (2006.01), C12M 1/12 (2006.01), C12P 1/04 (2006.01), C12P 39/00 (2006.01), C12Q 1/02 (2006.01) | |||||||||||
| Applicant: | HAKALEHTO, Eino, Elias [FI/FI]; Kasarmikatu 12 C 1, FIN-70110 Kuopio (FI). | |||||||||||
| Inventor: | HAKALEHTO, Eino, Elias; Kasarmikatu 12 C 1, FIN-70110 Kuopio (FI). | |||||||||||
| Priority Data: |
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In utilizing and studying microbes in industry or medicine or in environmental cleaning, the used microbiological and bacteriological methods in most cases call for the culturing of cells or equivalent in a nutrient substrate before being able to show them, clarifying the effects of their action or getting to a desired production result. This production result may be a cell growth, e.g. for feed or protein, or the formation of one or several desired metabolic products.
LIQUID OR GAS FORM
These products can be in liquid or gas form or they can be separated from a production liquid into solid form by precipitation. The production result of a microbiological reaction can also be the cleaning of environment, like soil or water, or the elimination of a harmful substance from an organism.
NUTRIENT SUBSTRATES
Nutrient substrates contain vital nutrients for microbes and they are designed to be as suitable as possible for the microbes and other organisms to be studied. Plant and animal cells have been started to generally be cultivated with similar methods as microbes.
Conventionally, nutrient substrates are divided into general nutrient substrates and selective nutrient substrates. In the former many different microbes can widely be cultivated whereas selective nutrient substrates choose or enrich selective species or strains. Studied microbes may be for example single cell bacteria or yeasts, or filamentous molds, or algae or protozoa.
MICROBE CULTIVATION
Microbe cultivations and studies may be related to projects for example in medicine, health care, pharmaceutical industry, food, chemistry or cosmetics industries or forestry industry. They may also be part of the control of building mold damage or the follow-up of environmental condition to find out the quality of water, air or other environmental quality.
FINNOFLAG AND ELIAS HAKALEHTO
Normally these cultivations take place in thermostatically controlled cabinets (thermal cabinets or incubators) or rooms, which thermostated cabinets are located in laboratories or equivalent. Often there is need to collect microbe samples or equivalent in the field or as part of field experiments or on site for example in production processes, different locations in hospitals or canteens. Large quantities of microbe cells are generally tried to be cultivated in different kinds of bioreactors, fermentors. Microbiological production reactions often also take place in these. In studies performed by Finnofiag Oy (Kuopio and Siilinjarvi, Finland), it has been shown that microbes can efficiently be cultivated in controlled environments in a cultivation case in a way that air or gas is led into the sampling and cultivation syringes in the case (Finnish patent no FI 106561).
FERMENTATION
In the biotechnical industry fermentation has conventionally been used for cultivating microbes or carrying out a production method by them. Although "fermentation" has originally meant anaerobic fermentation, this concept nowadays includes all microbe action that is carried out in bioreactors. This action may happen just as well in the presence of oxygen, aerobically, or without oxygen, anaerobically. In this application the term "reactor" means bioreactor.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
World Water Week, Stockholm, August 17 - 23, 2oo8
In the fast growing urban areas of the developing world, clean, efficient infrastructure and management of sanitation and waste facilities will require considerable up-front financial investments.
The economic, social and environmental benefits down the road will far outweigh this initial expenditure.
The World Water Week will take place in Stockholm, August 17 - 23, 2oo8. For a staggering 2,6 billion people, lack of access to adequate sanitation is a major and daily threat to their health and well-being.
This bears tremendous social and environmental costs, of which premature deaths, degradation of living quarters and the environment, and reduced access to education are but the few.
Parallell global trends - population and economic growth, increasing energy demand, changing diets, etc. - increase the amount of water required for development.
While increased agricultural production for food and bioenergy represent interesting new sources of income for rural farmers all over the world, these opportunities must take into account the water-constrained biophysical reality of the planet.
Reducing fossil fuel use will increase demand for bioenergy production. While the second generation of bioethanol may be produced on wastelands or from cellulose, croplands may also be converted for their production.
This increases competition for land and water resources. Climate change mitigation will increase the demand for biomass-based carbon sequestration.
Source: www.worldwaterweek.org
The economic, social and environmental benefits down the road will far outweigh this initial expenditure.
The World Water Week will take place in Stockholm, August 17 - 23, 2oo8. For a staggering 2,6 billion people, lack of access to adequate sanitation is a major and daily threat to their health and well-being.
This bears tremendous social and environmental costs, of which premature deaths, degradation of living quarters and the environment, and reduced access to education are but the few.
Parallell global trends - population and economic growth, increasing energy demand, changing diets, etc. - increase the amount of water required for development.
While increased agricultural production for food and bioenergy represent interesting new sources of income for rural farmers all over the world, these opportunities must take into account the water-constrained biophysical reality of the planet.
Reducing fossil fuel use will increase demand for bioenergy production. While the second generation of bioethanol may be produced on wastelands or from cellulose, croplands may also be converted for their production.
This increases competition for land and water resources. Climate change mitigation will increase the demand for biomass-based carbon sequestration.
Source: www.worldwaterweek.org
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