Pretreatment and hydrolysis of cellulosic agricultural wastes with a cellulase-producing Streptomyces for bioethanol production

Production of reducing sugar by hydrolysis of corncob material with Streptomyces sp. cellulase and ethanol fermentation of cellulosic hydrolysate was investigated. Cultures of Streptomyces sp. T3-1 improved reducing sugar yields with the production of CMCase, Avicelase and beta-glucosidase activity of 3.8, 3.9 and 3.8 IU/ml, respectively. CMCase, Avicelase, and beta-glucosidase produced by the Streptomyces sp. T3-1 favored the conversion of cellulose to glucose. It was recognized that the synergistic interaction of endoglucanase, exoglucanase and beta-glucosidase resulted in efficient hydrolysis of cellulosic substrate. After 5 d of incubation, the overall reducing sugar yield reached 53.1 g/100 g dried substrate. Further fermentation of cellulosic hydrolysate containing 40.5 g/l glucose was performed using Saccharomyces cerevisiae BCRC 21812, 14.6 g/l biomass and 24.6 g/l ethanol was obtained within 3 d. The results have significant implications and future applications regarding to production of fuel ethanol from agricultural cellulosic waste. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.