Paper
The present processes in paper and board industry are in most parts beneficial for microbial growth. The temperatures are in optimal range for a wide variety of microorganisms. Nutrients are in abundance and oxidation conditions remain stable in various different parts of process. The conditions are usually either strongly aerobic or anerobic and have usually a stable transition space in between.
Still very little attention in process design has been given to solutions that would help to avoid unwanted microbial activity. Consequently the appearance of microbes in various parts of paper and board manufacturing process is wide and varied and the resulting scope of problems is also broad.
The microbiological problems in paper and board industry can be divided in three categories:
- microbial growth that destroys properties of raw materials
- microbial growth that causes losses in production
- microbial growth that renders final product unsuitable for its intented use