Innovations in papermaking using enzymatic intervention: an ecofriendly approach.

The paper and pulp industry is one of the fastest-growing sectors and has exhibited fast growth in recent years. This is linked to the increased environmental pressure due to the use of virgin fibre from wood as raw material followed by its chemical mediated processing. This prompted the development of technologies that can replace conventional industrial processing. The tree based fibres can be replaced with secondary fibres and enzyme mediated processing can serve as a sustainable alternative to conventional procedures. Cellulase, amylase, pectinase, protease, and xylanase enzymes, as well as a consortium of these enzymes, are commercially available that can efficiently be used for bioretting, biopulping, biobleaching, biodeinking, and biorefining. The eco-friendly bio-based processing has resulted in reduced environmental load as evidenced by the reduction in the BOD and COD values to permissible levels. Enzymes offer significant potential in the production of paper owing to their high efficacy, bio renewability, mildness, non-polluting nature, high selectivity, low cost, and enhanced paper quality. This review intends to draw attention to the effective usage of enzymes for processing in the paper and pulp-based sectors. Biobased processing, alone or in combination with chemicals can prove to be an environment-friendly approach promoting environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]