Assessment of enzymatic deinking on mixed office waste and old magazine

Enzymatic deinking of Mixed Office Waste (MOW) was investigated with immobilized cellulase produced by an improved immobilization procedure. The impact of moisture content on the activity retention of the immobilized cellulase is significant; drying will make immobilized cellulase lose most, i.e., more than 90%, of its activity. Immobilized cellulase displays a better activity stability than soluble cellulase. Cellulase enhanced ink removal from MOW, in either soluble or immobilized form. During the enzymatic deinking process, adding an immobilization stage for cellulase preparation prior to deinking can significantly reduce enzyme use, by up to 85%, while providing equivalent or superior deinking results compared to the use of soluble cellulase.; The application of alpha-amylase for Old Magazine (OMG) deinking was also studied. The results showed that alpha-amylase provides little benefit to the OMG deinking, due to the very low accessible starch content present in the material.