Evaluating enzyme activity on wood pulp

The Dino-Lite digital microscopes are used for many tasks. The French company Celodev is using the metal Dino-Lite Pro X models to evaluate enzyme activity on wood pulp. Celodev is the producer of enzymes used in the paper industry, primarily to reduce the energy consumption for paper production. This requires an explanation: wood pulp is the raw material of paper, it is a slurry of small particles that are made from wood fibers. Certain enzymes such as cellulase, hemi-cellulase, pectinase and β-glucanase are able to break down these fibers and make the pulp suitable as a raw material for making paper. This biodegradation is used as an alternative to the energy-consuming mechanical refining of the fibers. Resulting in a lot of electricity saved, with great environmental benefit.

Gilles Bajul, the owner of Celodev: "The enzymes which we make break down the pulp, and thus provide for a partial and controlled refining of the fibers. The enzymatic treatment of the pulp reduces the energy consumption of the paper production, and it also improves the properties of the paper. We have to validate the enzymes that we provide constantly. In our laboratory we assess whether the various enzymes do their work in the right way, by reviewing the decomposition process under the Dino-Lite microscope. The nice thing about the Dino-Lite digital microscope is that it is robust and we can arrange the amount of light easily. This means that we do not need other light sources. The size makes the Dino-Lite a very convenient device. We take pictures but also movies with the Dino-Lite and we can store and process this material immediately because everything is digital and this saves us a lot of time. Dino-Lite has made itself indispensable in our lab."