Liquid state bioconversion of palm oil mill effluent for cellulase production: statistical optimization of process conditions

The filamentous fungus Trichoderma harzianum was used for liquid state bioconversion of POME for cellulase production. Statistical optimization was carried out to evaluate the physico-chemical parameters (factors) for maximum cellulase production by 2-level fractional factorial design with six central points. The polynomial regression model was developed using the experimental data including the effects of linear, quadratic and interaction of the factors. The factors involved were substrate (POME) and co-substrate (wheat flour) concentrations, temperature, pH, inoculum and agitation. Statistical analysis showed that the optimum conditions were: temperature of 300C, substrate concentration of 2%, wheat flour concentration of 3%, pH of 4, inoculum of 3% and agitation of 200 rpm. Under these conditions, the model predicted the enzyme production to be about 14 FPU/ml. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the design showed a high coefficient of determination (R2) value of 0.99, thus ensuring a high satisfactory adjustment of the quadratic model with the experimental data

Delignification of oil palm empty fruit bunch using chemical and microbial pretreatment methods

In this study, Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB) were subjected to chemical and microbial pretreatment for bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass to fermentable sugars. For chemical pretreatment, 2% (w/v) sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was been used for delignification while for microbial pretreatment, Phanerochaete chrysosporium ATCC 32629 was used as model microorganism by liquid and solid state culture techniques. Microbial pretreatment showed significant lignin removal with longer delignification time as compared to chemical pretreatment. For the same value of Klason lignin, delignification by chemical pretreatment need only 3 h as compared to 7 days for microbial pretreatment. The optimum value of Klason lignin for microbial pretreatment and chemical pretreatment were 5.89 and 5.93, respectively. In conclusion, delignification of OPEFB can be achieved via chemical and microbial pretreatment

Utilization of palm oil mill effluent as new media for cellulase enzyme production

A laboratory-scale cellulase production using palm oil mill effluent (POME) was carried out by Trichoderma harzianum in liquid state bioconversion (LSB). The optimum process conditions such as temperature, concentration of POME and co-substrate (wheat flour), pH, agitation rate and inoculum size obtained from previous study were used. Under these conditions, cellulase activity reached 13.2 FPU/ml after four days of fermentation. This study also involved the biodegradation of POME through the removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and reducing sugar. The maximum COD removal was 70% after 7 days of treatment. The product yields and its productivity were determined in order to evaluate the bioconversion process in LSB. The pH was measured in the entire fermentation process

Liquid State Bioconversion of Palm Oil Mill Effluent for Cellulase Production: Statistical Optimization of Process Conditions

The filamentous fungus Trichoderma harzianum was used for liquid state bioconversion of POME for cellulase production. Statistical optimization was carried out to evaluate the physico-chemical parameters (factors) for maximum cellulase production by 2-level fractional factorial design with six central points. The polynomial regression model was developed using the experimental data including the effects of linear, quadratic and interaction of the factors. The factors involved were substrate (POME) and co-substrate (wheat flour) concentrations, temperature, pH, inoculum and agitation. Statistical analysis showed that the optimum conditions were: temperature of 300C, substrate concentration of 2%, wheat flour concentration of 3%, pH of 4, inoculum of 3% and agitation of 200 rpm. Under these conditions, the model predicted the enzyme production to be about 14 FPU/ml. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the design showed a high coefficient of determination (R2)value of 0.99, thus ensuring a high satisfactory adjustment of the quadratic model with the experimental data