Kinetics of biodegradation of cellulosic materials

Cellulosic degradation of cotton and flax caused by Aspergillus niger fungu s cell or cellulase enzyme from A. niger was followed by measurements of th e degree of polymerization and related changes in the number of 1,4-beta-gl ucosidic broken bonds. The data indicate that A. niger and cellulase attack the beta-glucosidic bonds producing hydrolysis of the chains; in both case s, degradative scission of cellulosic chains takes place in more distinct s tages. Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose degraded at different degrees of polymeri zation caused by thermooxidative treatments, was carried out on cotton; it was shown that the effects of oxidative ageing reactions on the enzymatic c otton depolymerization became evident only under more extreme aged conditio ns.