Biopulping is a process where fungi are used to degrade lignin in wood fibers, making them easier to separate from cellulose. This method can help reduce the energy and chemical requirements for pulping wood to make paper products.
Kraft lignin is the form of lignin commonly used in paper making. It is a byproduct of the kraft pulping process that breaks down wood fibers to extract cellulose for paper production. Kraft lignin provides strength and structure to paper products.
Paper is made of cellulose fiber. In pure form cellulose fiber is colorless but due to the presence of residual lignin, pulp obtained from wood is brown. Pulp is made white by removing and/or modifying lignin and this process is called bleaching.
Some paper has a high amount of lignin. Lignin is part of a tree. When it is exposed to oxygen and sunlight for a long period of time, it turns yellow along with the paper. Unless you have dye, than you can't "make" paper yellow instantly. But you can drown it in coke but it won't do much.
I am not sure whether it has been put in use in an industrial scale or not but microbes have the potential to degrade lignin using enzymes which is also the polyphenolic component of wood. Thus, microbes especially white rot fungi can help in the pulping of wood which is the raw material for making paper.
Biodeterioration of paper materials is commonly caused by fungi, humid conditions favor the growth of fungi. Fungi play a role in destroying and degrading carbon and residue of nitrogen such as wood and paper. Fungi can produce hydrolytic enzymes such as cellulase, xylanase, pectinase.... Since the paper is made of cellulose and other materials, it can be destroyed and deteriorated by fungi.
Wood is pulverized and broken down into its cellulose form by cooking and chemically removing the lignin (which makes wood rigid). It is mixed with binding agents (and possibly bleaching agents) and flattened under pressure. Cotton and linen (flax) are also processed into paper and have no appreciable lignin.
The glue that holds pulp together is lignin, a complex organic polymer found in plant cell walls. During papermaking, lignin acts as a natural adhesive that binds the cellulose fibers together to form a strong and cohesive sheet of paper. The amount of lignin present in pulp can affect the strength and stability of the resulting paper product.
White paper turns yellow over time due to a chemical reaction called lignin oxidation. Lignin is a natural component found in paper that can break down under exposure to light, heat, and air, causing the paper to lose its brightness and turn yellow.Presence of acids in the environment can also contribute to this process.
Sulfur dioxide is used in papermaking to help break down lignin which is a natural polymer that binds fibers together in wood. By breaking down lignin, sulfur dioxide helps separate fibers, making it easier to form paper sheets. Additionally, sulfur dioxide also bleaches the pulp, giving paper products a white color.
I understand that it breaks down the lignin to release the celulose fibres.
Soak the paper with spirit ( ethyl alcohol) and then remove the sticky tape.