Simplifying cellulase production by using environmental selection pressures and recycling substrate.

The production of crude cellulase in solid-state fermentation was simplified by using environmental selection pressures as an alternative to specialized strains and by re-using cellulose-to-ethanol fermentation substrate for cellulase production. The performance of wild strains of Trichoderma viride isolated from wheat and bark were found not to differ significantly from a 'cellulase-enhanced' strain of Trichoderma reesei. The filter paper activity of a strain of Aspergillus niger isolated in the laboratory was more than two times higher than the specialized T.

Ethanol from lignocellulose using crude unprocessed cellulase from solid-state fermentation.

It was desired to study a simplified method of cellulase production using solid-state fermentation for its potential to be used on-site as part of a cellulose to ethanol conversion process, in lieu of expensive and energy intensive commercial enzyme preparations. Crude unprocessed cellulase extracts were produced by solid-state fermentation of Trichoderma reesei on ground wheat straw. While cellulase yields were not high they were sufficient to produce ethanol from wheat straw in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation with Saccharomyces cerevisiae.