Cellulase production from Trichoderma reesei RUT C30 induced by continuous feeding of steam-exploded Miscanthus lutarioriparius

The production of low-cost and high-activity cellulase is crucial to the industrial development of biorefinery but has been undermined by the effective utilization of inducers. In this study, a solid screw feeder was designed and used to feed steam-exploded lignocellulosic biomass continuously for cellulase induction and production from Trichoderma reesei RUT C30. The results showed that continuous feeding of lignocellulosic inducers led to high activity of cellulase production than batch and intermittent fed-batch feeding. In particular, a promising second generation energy crop, Miscanthus lutarioriparius, was found to be a much better inducer than other types of biomass. It resulted in filter paper activity of 19.85 FPU/mL when this material was feed continuously during fermentation. The feeding parameters were further optimized so that this feeding strategy and the utilization of the Miscanthus biomass combined can provide a potentially useful system for effective industrial cellulase production.

Automated summary

Continuous feeding of lignocellulosic inducers led to higher cellulase production activity compared to batch and intermittent fed-batch feeding. Miscanthus lutarioriparius was identified as a more effective inducer for cellulase production than other biomass types, resulting in high filter paper activity when continuously fed during fermentation. Optimized feeding parameters combined with the use of Miscanthus biomass present a potentially useful system for industrial cellulase production.