Hidehiko Sugiyama

New Pulp Biobleaching System Involving Manganese Peroxidase Immobilized in a Silica Support with Controlled Pore Sizes

ABSTRACT Attempts have been made to use manganese peroxidase (MnP) for chlorine-free pulp biobleaching, but they have not been commercially viable because of the enzymes low stability. We developed a new pulp biobleaching method involving mesoporous material-immobilized manganese peroxidase from Phanerochaete chrysosporium. MnP immobilized in FSM-16, a folded-sheet mesoporous material whose pore size is nearly the same as the diameter of the enzyme, had the highest thermal stability and tolerance to H2O2. MnP immobilized in FSM-16 retained more than 80% of its initial activity even after 10 days of continuous reaction. We constructed a thermally discontinuous two-stage reactor system, in which the enzyme (39°C) and pulp-bleaching (70°C) reactions were performed separately. When the treatment of pulp with MnP by means of the two-stage reactor system and alkaline extraction was repeated seven times, the brightness of the pulp increased to about 88% within 7 h after completion of the last treatment.

Thermally stable and hydrogen peroxide tolerant manganese peroxidase (MnP) from Lenzites betulinus

A thermally stable and hydrogen peroxide tolerant manganese peroxidase (MnP) was purified from the culture medium of Lenzites betulinus by ion exchange chromatography, gel filtration and isoelectric focusing chromatography. The MnP purified from L. betulinus (L‐MnP) has a molecular mass of 40 kDa and its isoelectric point was determined to be 6.2. The first 19 amino acids at the N‐terminal end of the L‐MnP sequence were found to exhibit 74% identity with those of a Phlebia radiata MnP. L‐MnP was proved to have the highest hydrogen peroxide tolerance among MnPs reported so far. It retained more than 60% of the initial activity after thermal treatment at 60°C for 60 min, and also retained more than 60% of the initial activity after exposure to 10 mM hydrogen peroxide for 5 min at 37°C.

Synthesis of Cu Nanoparticles Using Copper Carbonate as Cu Source Toward Versatile Applications

Cu nanoparticles (NPs) coated with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) were fabricated by polyol method using copper carbonate as a raw material. To increase the reaction temperature, glycol multimers such as diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, or tetraethylene glycol were examined as a solvent. With increasing degree of multimerization, average diameter of Cu NPs decreased. The synthesis of Cu NPs was further investigated by changing reaction temperature, the amount and molecular weight of PVP in triethylene glycol as a solvent. Average diameter and standard deviation of Cu NPs were found to be highly dependent on those factors. As a result, fine Cu NPs ranging from 28 to 67 nm in average size with narrow size distribution (standard deviation: 16-28%) were obtained. The obtained Cu NPs were applied to a nanofluid, which showed higher thermal conductivity than the theoretical value. The antibacterial activity of Cu NPs was also demonstrated, and found to have strong antibacterial activity.