textan Chemicals Private Limited of Chennai recently launched Texzyme J, an enzyme specifically designed for the pulp and paper industry. It can reduce by at least 15 per cent the consumption of chemicals used for bleaching, says Susheela, manager, Quality Control, Textan Chemicals.

Bleaching is necessary because the pulp obtained from the raw material (wood or agro-residue) is dark brown. This is due to the presence of lignin, a natural substance that binds wood/agro-residue fibres together. Elemental chlorine and chlorine dioxide are commonly used to remove lignin and produce brighter pulp. But chlorine bleaching leads to formation of organo-chlorines