Production, Optimization and Partial purification of Cellulase by Aspergillus niger fermented with paper and timber sawmill industrial wastes

Abstract

It was the goal to investigate the cellulase enzyme production ability of fungal strain Aspergillus niger against the lignocellulosic bio wastes like saw dust, paper cellulose at varying environmental parameters of pH (4-7), temperature (20-50°C) and incubation period (2-8 days). Production of cellulase was analysed by Dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) and Filter paper assay methods. In the DNS method, maximum enzyme production of 3.9 IU was achieved at temperature of 45°C by Aspergillus niger in paper cellulose with pH of 5 on 7th day of growth. The partial purification of the cellulase enzyme produced by Aspergillus niger in the waste supplemented medium had two protein bands with the molecular weight of 33 and 24kDa respectively. Key words: Aspergillus niger, paper cellulose, DNS, FPA, Cellulase, Partial purification, Fermentation.