The dark colour of kraft pulp after the wood chips have been heated at high temperature with NaOH solution is caused by lignin (a complex phenolic polymer) still attached to the cellulose fibres. Traditionally this pulp is treated with chlorine to bleach the pulp to make it suitable for paper making. Unfortunately this leads to the formation of some potentially toxic chlorophenolic compounds of...

As wood treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) is removed from service, methods for eliminating toxic metals from the wood are needed. CCA-tolerant bacteria were evaluated for their ability to modify CCA-treated wood. Aerobic bacteria were isolated from a 20-year-old test plot of CCA-treated stakes. Bacteria selected for their ability to grow on nutrient agar containing CCA components, we...