Enzyme synthesis from Aspergillus niger using solidstate fermentation of Agro - waste Substrates

Cellulose is considered to be the most abundant renewable lignocellulosic material on earth. The technique employed for the conversion of these agricultural residues to simple sugars by cellulases thus has a great industrial and commercial potential and can open new application fields in the areas of industrial processes. The process of this conversion of cellulosic materials by cellulase which is a hydrolytic enzyme was studied using solid-state fermentation (SSF) and agricultural wastes as substrates and microorganisms (Aspergillus niger)in a controlled environment while giving the organism free access to water molecules. The fungal organism used was isolated from the area where the bi-products were obtained. The microbe (A.niger) was subjugated for the production of an enzyme carboxymethyl cellulase in a CMC solution by the DNSA method ata varying range of temperatures and other varying parameters were studied as well such as the pH, Carbon and nitrogen sources and effects of metals ion concentration on the enzyme. It was analyzed using the Lineweaver-Burk plot which offered a practical graphical method for analyses of the Michaelis-Menten equation to evaluate the imperative terms in enzyme kinetics such as Km and Vmax. The yield was also compared using the aforementioned equation and kinetics and it was observed that the enzymatic yield was higher on rice bran than on corn cob. The enzyme was tolerant and stable at a varying range of temperatures, as such is a viable tool in industrial processes and hence can provide veritable potential in developing andspurring the economy of the country if well harnessed