Tuesday, April 20, 2010
10-24

Optimization of lipase production by Penicillium simplicissimum in castor bean waste: A residue from the biodiesel industry

Mateus G. Godoy1, Melissa L. E. Gutarra1, Juliana V. Bevilaqua2, Aline M. Castro2, Olga L.T. Machado3, and Denise M. G. Freire1. (1) Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (2) Cenpes, Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (3) Centro de Biociências e Biotecnologia, Universidade Estadual Norte Fluminense, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In countries with strong agricultural base, like Brazil, the generation of solid residues is very high. In some cases, these wastes do not present any utility due to their toxic and allergenic compounds, becoming then an environmental concern. The castor bean (Ricinus communis) is a promising candidate for biodiesel production. From the biodiesel production process developed in the Petrobras Research and Development Center using castor bean seeds, a waste extremely toxic and alkaline is produced. The use of agroindustrial wastes in solid-state fermentation (SSF) is a very interesting alternative for obtaining enzymes at low cost. Therefore, in this work, it was used the castor bean waste, without any treatment, as culture medium for fungal growth and lipase production. The fungus Penicillium simplicissimum, an excellent lipase producer, was able to grow and produce the enzyme in this waste. In order to maximize the enzyme production, two sequential designs – Plackett-Burman (variable screening) followed by central composite rotatable design (CCRD) – were carried out attaining a considerable increase in the lipase production, reaching an activity of 155.0 U.g-1 after 96h of fermentation. The use of experimental design strategy was efficient, leading to an increase of 340% in the lipase production.  Furthermore, in previous work, our group showed that the fermentation by the fungus P. simplicissimum was able to eliminate the ricin from the castor bean waste, making it safe for the environment. Thus, using SSF it was possible to aggregate value to an undesirable agroindustrial waste producing a biocatalyst of great technological interest.

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