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Abstract:
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Biopulping being less energy intensive, inexpensive and causing lesser pollution, can be a viable alternative to chemical and
mechanical pulping in paper and pulp industry. In view of shrinking forest reserves, agricultural residues are considered as an
alternative raw material for making paper and board. By suitable treatment agriwaste can be converted into substrate for
mushroom cultivation. Mushrooms of Pleurotus sp. can preferentially remove lignin from agriwaste with limited degradation
to cellulose. The present study examines utilization of Pleurotus eous for biopulping of paddy straw by solid substrate
fermentation. SMS, the mushroom growing medium that results from cultivation process, is a good source of fibre and can be
pulped easily. Ligninases present in SMS were able to reduce lignin content to nearly half the initial amount by 21st day of
cultivation. Highest cellulose content (% dry weight) was observed on 21st day, while cellulase production commenced from
28th day of cultivation. SEM images revealed that SMS fibres are still associated with non-cellulosic materials when
compared to chemically (20% w/v NaOH) extracted fibres. |