PRODUCTION OF CELLULASE IN SOLID-STATE FERMENTATION WITH TRICHODERMA-REESEI MCG-80 ON WHEAT-STRAW

It is an accepted fact that ethanol production from lignocellulosic ma terials is not economical as yet because of the high cost of cellulase production. To reduce the cost of cellulase production, lignocellulos ic material (wheat straw [WSI), a comparatively much cheap er substrat e, was used instead of costly substrates (pure cellulose or lactose). A pan bioreactor was developed for solid-state fermentation (SSF) that required a small capital investment. High yields of complete cellulas e system were obtained compared to that in the liquid-state fermentati on (LSF) from WS, when treated with 4.25% NaOH at 121 degrees C for 1 h and mixed with Mandels' medium. A complete cellulase system is defin ed as one in which the ratio of beta-glucosidase activity to filter pa per activity in the enzyme solution is close to 1.0. The cellulase sys tem derived from SSF using the pan bioreactor gave more than 85% hydro lysis of delignified WS. The prototype pan bioreactor requires further improvements so that optimum quantity of substrate can be fermented t o obtain high yields of complete cellulase system per unit space. The SSF process provides a means for the production of complete cellulase system for the economical bioconversion of renewable biomass into etha nol.