Automatized control systems for paper industry microbiology are coming.

IM read good news from international, net-based paper industry newsletter: oxidative agents can be measure automatically today!

Next step is obviously automatic measurement of microbial activity. A couple of analytical methods are available for this purpose. Forecast by IM is that some of them are in practical use already before the end of this decade.

This kind of automatized control needs rapid methods (like PMEU incubations and combined analytical methods to achieve fast results) for frequent evaluation of biocide alternatives, solving of trouble shooting situations and detection of harmful microbes (Bacillus cereus, Deinococcus geothermalis, Klebsiella and Burkholderia species, Sphaerotilus natans, Legionella pneumophila, amylolytic and cellulolytic microbes etc.).

Now it is the right time to start rapid control methods of paper and board machines. Colony count analyses take too much time to be a real HACCP alternative, and they are very laborous.

- Net newsletter tells:

"NAPERVILLE, Ill., USA --June 23, 2008-- After successful trials that created improved product quality, operating cost savings and environmental and safety performance benefits for papermakers, Nalco Company (NYSE:NLC) has launched OxiPRO(tm) Deposit Control technology to the global pulp and paper industry. This novel, patent-pending control technology combines measurement, data analysis and precise dosing with proprietary chemistry to prevent unnecessary downtime and product defects. Real-time measurement of changing surface deposition, microbial activity and process conditions triggers proprietary data analysis software and on-site application experts to ensure that feed points, dosing strategies and the proper proprietary chemistries continuously optimize papermaking performance. "This new technology offers invaluable benefits to our customers - targeted to their unique application requirements - by controlling costly variability in microbial growth and surface deposits. Real-time control allows Nalco to help customers reduce operating costs and use chemistry only as needed, which reduces safety hazards and the potential for upsets to the health of the wastewater treatment plant," said Michael Meier, Nalco's Global Program Manager for Deposit Control Expertise Center. For more information about Nalco's innovative OxiPRO Deposit Control Technology, visit www.nalco.com/OxiPRO, send your inquiry to oxipro@nalco.com or contact your local Nalco Sales Engineer. About Nalco Nalco is the world's leading water treatment and process improvement company, delivering significant environmental, social and economic performance benefits to our customers. We help our customers reduce energy, water and other natural resource consumption, enhance air quality, minimize environmental releases and improve productivity and end products while boosting the bottom line. Together our comprehensive solutions contribute to the sustainable development of customer operations. More than 11,500 Nalco employees operate in 130 countries supported by a comprehensive network of manufacturing facilities, sales offices and research centers to serve a broad range of end markets. In 2007, Nalco achieved sales of more than $3.9 billion. For more information visit www.nalco.com. Source: Nalco"

How much is needed to know?

IM is thinking about the various levels of microbiological knowledge, needed to control risk factors of paper and board production.

There is certainly some basic level which shall be reached. Colony counts - both "total count" and counts of more specified microbial groups - serve as the first steps and can very often tell much about current HACCP status to the operators of the machines.

Another basic activity - especially in trouble shooting situations - is microscopy (which has been discussed earlier on this blog). It also gives one view into microbiology of the processes and can also been applied to trouble shooting of product problems whenever challenges of epifluorescence microscopy are available.

Colony counts, of course, tell us about the microbes which are the members of ecosystem / bioreactor called paper machine (also discussed earlier...). Still there are (at least) two points of view which are missing:

• what kind of environments are favoured by the microbial populations? Temperature, pH, redox potential, certain chemical compounds, any symbiotic relationships, any antagonistic effects, tendency to grow in water / on the surfaces....?
• what are the main activities of the microbial population? Growth rates? Age of the population (LAG/LOG/KILL)? Special metabolic activities (enzymatic breakdown of starches by amylolytic bacteria etc.)?

It is questionable if any identifications of microbial flora is needed in all cases but, whenever done, ID information tells us, what the microbes are able to do (no matter, they really do not always act like "they should" when referring literature!).

It is the combination of two features - count and activity - of microbial flora which matters. Colony counts alone really do not tell everything about the activities of the flora. Some specified tests - not necessarily very complicated - can be done to understand the main metabolic activities which are going on in the process. One example may be HUGH&LEIFSON tests, teached on all primary microbiology courses of universities, which very easily give information of energy metabolism, favorite carbohydrates, motility and gas formation of isolated bacterial strains.

RAPID METHODS can also tell about the combined effects of count and activity of process flora. PMEU incubator by FINNOFLAG Oy is very much recommended to assays where certain metabolic activities shall be evaluated (see also www.biotouch.blogspot.com). Enzymatic attack by microbes against different additives can be checked very fast in this way.

A combination of some basic tests for the main representative isolates among total count analyses - basic microscopy, Gram test, oxidase ad catalase tests, HUGH&LEIFSON tests etc. - give valuable information about the main features of total population but this data works as a tool for QC and HACCP only when combined with the experimental results of activity tests and knowledge about sensitivities to different types of biocidic treatments.

Microbial ecology shall still be mentioned as the solid basement for the understanding of potential activities which microbial flora of paper and board machines and their raw material lines is expected to perform. Ecological way of thinking can also tell how the situations may change in near future if one or several basic growth factors are altered.

Future forecasts (like "weather report for a paper machine"- an analogy presented by Helge Keitel, one partner of BIOTOUCH group) should therefore be based on both fast and reliable investigations of process activities and on the overall knowledge of microbial ecology.

As a conclusion, the main task is therefore to answer to the question:

What can happen under certain environmental conditions when certain microbial activities have been detected?

Paper mills, model 1908 and 2008?

To produce paper, lot of activities besides technical operation are needed.

IM tries to review a paper mill in 1908 (no matter has not born so early...). Machines have bougth from foreign countries (from U.S.A., maybe?), products have been chosen (obviously there were no very many brands on a single paper machine) and fibers were derived mechanically. Water consumption was high (because no environmental pressures at those times). Lots of people working in non-automatized jobs. Markets were both local and international, but relatively easy to understand.

All has changed significantly in one hundred years.

New products; new processes; new raw materials; diversity of grammages and brands on one machine; international, complicated markets...

Two issues have got overwhelming importance: speed and R&D.

These two are interconnected. A machine without careful R&D already in the construction of pulp, raw material and process systems cannot work very well. R&D is also needed in trouble shooting situations (the price of your lunch may be lower than the cost of one delayed production second of the machine).

What are then the roles of R and D today?

The needs for QC are ever growing: faster analyses to avoid economical losses. Paper mill laboratories work to fulfil this task. R is certainly needed to improve the methods of QC.

D should be connected to R to produce new methods for these analytical and operational tasks - not only to develope new kind of products, which also is very important). The personal opinion of IM is that the gaps between R and D are usually caused by economical reasons: everybody respect R but the connection from research results to improved methods may be long (and long-lasting).

Curiosity and interest in the development of new methods is still worth of all expences. More secure driving of machines, more stable quality, less trouble shooting...

What is needed to produce good paper?

IM is sitting on the terrace of his summer cottage. Sun is still high in southwest, seagulls are screaming -everything so peaceful.

And then the idea: what is needed to produce good paper?

First, people.

Those people who are interested in to drive a paper mill. All issues included - and there are many of them.

Price of wood; transportation of wood and other raw materials; services for the paper machines; 24 h driving of it....

In the beginning of his career, IM tend to visit control rooms of a paper machine during evening time. Sitting there, watching all the controls of the monitors, discussing about problems and how to cure them.

For some reason, microbiology has always been an interesting topic for personnel of a paper machine. What can happen to the raw materials? Can microbial activities cause problems in broke systems? How shall the water circulation and tanks be handled?

IM feels very humble today - to be one link in the complicated process called paper production.

One link - but as important as other links as well.

To understand the very multiscientific field of paper production - not to forget all activities to keep it on an economical satisfied level - is a hard task. What is needed (thinks IM) is to understand each other's work. It takes time to understand this truth - not your area only, but all efforts of others are needed to produce Good Paper.

ON LINE methods for paper industry microbiology.

Rapid and ON LINE methods of microbiology have gathered evergrowing interest in pulp and paper industry.

There are several features of these novel, alternative control tools which will give significant benefit when raw materials, processes and products are the subjects of microbiological QC:

• specified physical, chemical and biochemical analyses can be arranged to give fast and reliable information about the amounts and activities of microbial populations
• analytical results can be collected and processed to give time series with frequent observations
• main statistical tests (like correlation and regression analyses) can also be performed to show any dependences of microbiological status in critical points of the processes as well as the response of microbial flora on major growth factors in "paper mill ecosystem"
• Real HACCP needs rapid analyses and fast reporting from CCP sites
• Statistical testing can be based on Normal Distribution of obsevations (compared to Poisson Distribution when colony count methods or microscopy is applied)

IM has noticed very promising progress in co-operation between paper industry research and developers of rapid analytical tools during last years. Maybe a real HACCP can be constructed in pulp and paper industry in near future?

Global distribution of paper industry microbiology.

IM felt very happy to get a message about the honour to have his blog connected into a global net news organisation for paper industry:

"We have a popular pulp and paper industry news website (http://news.paperindex.com) where we have started covering blogs too. We have posted headline and snippets of your latest blog post on our website. Hope this will help you generate good traffic to your blog."

Microbiology is connected to paper industry in many ways which have been discussed in this blog. There are also microbiologist working on this area worldwide - their number may not be high but their work is very valuable for the use of P&P raw materials, running of the machines, performing QC of paper products as well for the biological waste water treatment.

"Density of paper industry microbiologists" is definitely low in the world but IM hopes that blogging will increase its popularity among P&P microbiologists and he tries himself to inform all readers of www.industrymicrobiologist@blogspot.com about new ideas on this area. He also recommends to visit www.biotouch@blogspot.com which also contains recent news and future forecasts of microbiology and biotechnology.

Microscopy as an analytical tool for paper industry.

IM (Industrial Microbiologist) has worked as a microscopy teacher and trainer for paper industry since the beginning of 80's. It seems that this analytical tool is very popular: annual courses in Helsinki and at the customers' facilities have indicated an everlasting need to achieve training and experience in microscopy.

There are three major areas of paper industry where microscopy can serve as a rapid tool for analytical control:

• Raw material, process and product microbiology. Traditional Bright Field, Dark Field and Phase Contrast microscopy are always valuable methods. Epifluorescence microscopy techniques (Confocal microscopy included) help significantly when biofilm studies with test coupons will be performed.
• Fibre microscopy. Bright Field microscopy of stained fibre preparates is a common method for the investigations of fibre contents of paper and board.
• Activated sludge microscopy. This is the fastest and most reliable method to check the main activated sludge properties: condition of microbial population and flock formation. It also gives information about sludge age.

Technical equipment for paper industry microscopy bases on ordinary light microscopy, but some prerequisites are needed when microbes are the subject of study:

• illumination technique for "wet preparates" = Phase Contrast illumination.
• higher numerical aperture than for other applications to reach distiction of small objects (an example: N.A. > 1.0 for 40x Phase Contrast objective which means the need of oil immersion - type objectives).
• Epifluorescence (UV) illumination (for trouble shooting and test coupon analyses).
• high-sensitive digital camera (to detect objects in Epifluorescence microscopy).

Laboratory technicians, operators and researchers of paper industry are very interested to apply microscopy into their analytical procedure. These methods, however, need time and patience when learning to explain the views on the preparates. Training is first needed to diagnose all the raw materials of the processes, typical paper industry microbes etc. before a microscopist is ready to solve real trouble shooting samples. The knowledge of different type bacteria, protozoa and higher organisms of activated sludge systems is also needed.

There are two ways to collect experience for the evaluation of microscopical preparates: either training alone with different well-known preparates (tip: slides with bacteria can be bought from certain companies) or join courses where paper industry microscopy will be teach (such kind of courses will be held annually at least in Finland).