ABSTRACT
The production of paper, from tissue to heavy-weight cardboard, is one of the largest industries in the world. The estimated 3500 paper machines operating in North America and Europe have an annual production of about 160 million metric tonnes of product. Each production machine typically consumes 10 to 100 m3 of water per tonne of paper produced (Väisänen et al., 1994). Given the volume of water used and the operating conditions, paper mills are near perfect environments for the growth of microorganisms, resulting in significant problems in paper production.
