Valorization of Potato Peels Residues on Cellulase Production Using a Mixed Culture of Aspergillus niger ATCC 16404 and Trichoderma reesei DSMZ 970

peer reviewedIn this paper, we report on the utilization of potato peel residues (PPR) as a substrate and support for the production of cellulase complexes by mono-and co-culture of Aspergillusniger ATCC 16404 and Trichodermareesei DSMZ 970 by solid state fermentation. A significant increase in cellulase production, especially CMC-ase, was obtained during co-culture compared to respective monocultures. The effect of PPR pretreatment with acid and alkali on cellulase production was also investigated. Characterization of the pretreated substrate by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis highlighted a structural alteration of the constitutive components of potato peels residues. These pretreated substrates were tested for their ability to support cellulase production by co-culture of A. niger ATCC 16404 and T. reesei DSMZ 970. Time course measurements of cellulase activity clearly demonstrated that substrate pretreatment had a negative effect on cellulase production. The highest yields of cellulase were obtained using untreated substrate with 80, 199, 48 UI/gds for FP-ase, CMC-ase and β-glucosidase, respectively. © 2016, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht