Sunday, May 4, 2008
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Cellulase Production from Paper Mill Sludge by Trichoderma Reesei Rut C-30

Wei Wang1, Li Kang1, and Y. Y. Lee2. (1) Chemical Engineering, Auburn University, 212 Ross Hall, Auburn, AL 36849, (2) Department of Chemical Engineering, Auburn University, 212 Ross Hall, Auburn, AL 36849-5127

Paper mill sludge is a solid byproduct recovered from the wastewater stream of the pulping and papermaking. Because of high glucan content and well-dispersed structure containing large amount of short fibers, sludge is considered as a potential feedstock for bioconversion into value-added products. However it also has a high ash content which is toxic to cell growth. It is desirable to remove ash as much as possible from the sludge, while retaining carbohydrates. In this study, the de-ashed sludge via water washing, acid leaching was used as substrates for cellulase production and ethanol fermentation. The cellulase enzyme produced from de-ashed sludge exhibited cellulase activity as high as 8 FPU/ml.  Furthermore, in the SSF test using Sacharomyces cerevisiae and the cellulase produced from the sludge, ethanol yields in the vicinity of 70% of theoretical maximum, and 6% ethanol concentration were achieved. These results are comparable to those of the processes using commercial cellulases. The results of this study supports that the pulp mill sludge is a feedstock feasible for cellulase as well as ethanol production.

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