Waste Water Bioremediation in the Pulp and Paper Industry

Abstract

Effluents from the pulp and paper industry contain chromophoric compounds and can be partly mutagenic and inhibitory to aquatic biosystems. The presence of various pollutants produced during pulp and paper manufacturing necessitates the need for waste water pretreatment prior to discharge. Of all the methods investigated, bioremediation specifically holds promise in solving environmental problems in a cost-effective way. White-rot fungi have ability to process a variety of pollutants efficiently, however, development of suitable cultivation procedures has delayed industrial application. These and other issues affecting bioremediation of industrial wastewater, with special reference to application thereof in the pulp and paper industry, are reviewed in this paper.