Abstract:
A major constraint in the enzymatic saccharification of biomass for ethanol production is the cost of
cellulase enzymes. Production cost of cellulases may be brought down by multifaceted approaches which
include the use of cheap lignocellulosic substrates for fermentation production of the enzyme, and the
use of cost efficient fermentation strategies like solid state fermentation (SSF). In the present study,
cellulolytic enzymes for biomass hydrolysis were produced using solid state fermentation on wheat bran
as substrate. Crude cellulase and a relatively glucose tolerant BGL were produced using fungi Trichoderma
reesei RUT C30 and Aspergillus niger MTCC 7956, respectively. Saccharification of three different feed
stock, i.e. sugar cane bagasse, rice straw and water hyacinth biomass was studied using the enzymes.
Saccharificationwas performed with 50 FPU of cellulase and 10 U of b-glucosidase per gram of pretreated
biomass. Highest yield of reducing sugars (26.3 g/L) was obtained from rice straw followed by sugar cane
bagasse (17.79 g/L). The enzymatic hydrolysate of rice straw was used as substrate for ethanol production
by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The yield of ethanol was 0.093 g per gram of pretreated rice straw.
