Barrios et al. Biotechnology for Biofuels and Bioproducts
(2025) 18:48
Page 9 of 23
Fig. 2 Process diagram illustrating the cost analysis of the cell-free enzyme treatment to increase solids content after pressing in bleached hardwood kraft pulp and board production
Table 3 Enzyme activity and protein content determined for the commercial enzyme Enzyme preparations Enzyme activities
Protein concentration (mg mL − 1 )
FPA (FPU mL − 1 )
β-glucosidase (U mL − 1 )
Xylanase (U mL − 1 )
CMCase (U mL − 1 )
Enzyme blend
11
0.9
0.1
1125
90
Table 4 Effect of enzyme pretreatment on paper’s freeness, EMC, and tensile properties
Enzyme
Dose (%)
Duration of pretreatment (min)
Freeness (mL)
EMC (%)
Tensile index (Nm/g)
Avg
Std
Avg
Std
Avg
Std
Refined to 1000 revs Control
n/a 0.5
n/a
510 600 602
5 3 9
61.11 53.76 56.68
0.91 0.97 0.84
61.22 59.27 56.03
4.45 6.38 3.79
30 30
Enzyme blend
1
Values are presented as the average and standard deviations based on five replicates
Results and discussion Enhanced dewatering and paper strength Enzymatic activity
mL is within the range commonly seen in commercial cellulase preparations, indicating that this blend is com- petitive with other products for cellulose degradation [57, 58]. However, the CMCase and β-glucosidase activi- ties are on the lower side, with 0.9 U/mL and 0.1 U/mL, respectively [59, 60]. These values suggest that while the enzyme preparation is robust in its xylanase func- tion, it may be more specialized or intended to be com- bined with other enzymes or additives to achieve optimal results.
The results for activity quantification for the enzyme blend indicate a strong profile in xylanase activity, which was 1125 U/mL, as shown in Table 3. This level of xyla- nase activity is high compared to typical values reported in the literature, positioning the blend as highly effec- tive for applications that require extensive hemicellulose breakdown. The filter paper activity (FPA) of 11 FPU/
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