Scientific Publications
Biorefining of waste paper biomass: Increasing the concentration of glucose by optimising enzymatic hydrolysis at high substrate loads
Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 172, 3621-3634
Waste copier paper was found to have high potential as a substrate for the production of glucose relevant for production of platform chemicals and intermediates, being composed of 51% glucan. The enzymatic saccharification of solid ink-free copier paper as cellulosic substrate was studied using a range of commercial cellulase preparations. . The results show that in all cellulase preparations examined, maximum hydrolysis was only achieved with the addition of beta-glucosidase, despite its presence in the enzyme mixtures, and an anti-microbial agent. Beta-glucosidase not only increased the extent of digestion, but also the initial rate of digestion. With the use of Accellerase® (cellulase), the effect of high substrate loading decreased conversion yield, this was overcome if of the enzyme was added between 12.5 and 20 FPU g substrate-1. Furthermore, this reaction condition facilitated continual stirring and enabled sequential additions (up to 50% w/v) of paper to be made to the hydrolysis reaction, degrading nearly all (99%) of the cellulose fibres, and increasing the final concentration of glucose whilst simultaneously making high substrate concentrations achievable. Under optimal conditions (50°C, ph 5.0, 72 hours), digestions facilitate the production of glucose at high concentrations up to 1.33 mol L-1.
Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 172, 3621-3634
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