Abstract

Among various Chilean trees, the wood of Drimys winteri (canelo) has an interesting potential for its use in the pulp and paper industry. This wood has unique morphological and chemical characteristics that are between hardwood and softwood. In this work, the kraft pulping ability of D. winteri to be used as an alternative fiber source for cellulose and paper production was evaluated. Kraft cookings were carried out utilizing not treated chips (control) and biotreated chips by the white-rot fungus Ganoderma australe in solid fermentation conditions for periods of 15, 30 and 45 days. During biotreatment, a selective pattern of lignin removal was observed. Lignin losses varied from 4.0% to 7.5% while glucan loss was lower than 4.0%. At 30 min of cooking, kappa numbers of biopulps were reduced by 8-11 points. With longer cooking times the effect of biotreatment in kappa number reduction became smaller. During refining in a PFI beater the biopulps were refined easier than the respective control pulps, saving time or energy in this stage. Although biopulps were ease to refine, strength and optical properties were similar to those of control pulps.