Corn steep liquor lowers the amount of inoculum for biopulping

This research examined the effectiveness of corn steep liquor in reducing the quantity of fungal inoculum during biomechanical pulping. Loblolly pine, Pinus taeda, chips were treated for two weeks with different strains of the white-rot fungus Ceriporiopsis subvermispora on a laboratory scale. On unsupplemented chips, 3 kg/ton of inoculum on a dry weight basis of strain CZ-3 save 19% electrical energy and improved tear index by 28% compared with the control. With addition of 0.5% sterilized corn steep liquor on a dry weight basis, inoculum levels as low as 5 g/ton gave equivalent energy savings but did not improve tear index. Two strains saved 28-29% energy and improved tear index by 21-22% when amending 5 g/ton of inoculum of each strain with 0.5% sterilized corn steep liquor. Other augmentation led to 34% savings in energy and 46% improvement in tear index.