Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Cellulose: Isolation and Investigation of Cellulose Breaking Fungus from Soil

Abstract

Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose is an important reaction in nature and marks the first step in the decay of cellulose, the most abundantly occurring organic material. Unlike the chemical reactions, the enzymatic process has not yet been adapted to any useful industrial purpose. Cellulosic biomass is very difficult to degrade because of its recalcitrance. Today it is mostly pretreated with thermo chemical methods to make it more accessible to enzymes, which are produced in an extra step and then added to the biomass. This technical paper presents series of experiments done in isolating cellulase (a cellulose breaking enzyme) producing fungus from paper samples kept in natural conditions at various locations. The enzyme producing capabilities of various samples, the optimal conditions for fungal growth etc are herein presented in the paper.