Utilization of Groundnut Husk as a Solid Substrate for Cellulase Production by Aspergillus niger Using Response Surface Methodology

This study employs the use of statistical optimization for development of groundnut husk based medium for enhancement of cellulase production by Aspergillus niger. Initial screening of eleven medium components was carried out using Plackett-Burman design and response surface methodology (RSM) was then used to optimize the significant factors. The concentrations of four medium components that led to the maximum cellulase production as optimized using RSM were 1.60 % wheat flour, 0.04 % Urea, 0.006 % MnSO4 center dot H2O and 0.06 % MgSO4 center dot 7H(2)O. The highest cellulase production in terms of CMCase FPase and beta-glucosidase activities were 48.69, 16.70 and 9.85 U/g respectively following this optimization process. Thus, the results obtained in this study demonstrated the potential of utilizing groundnut husk as a substrate with minimal supplementation for enhanced cellulase production.