SOLID STATE CULTURE OF TRICHODERMA REESEI FOR CELLULASE PRODUCTION

THE BIOCONVERSION OF CELLULOSE TO ETHANOL BY ENZYMATIC HYDROLYSIS IS AN IMPORTANT FUTURE ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCE. THE ECONOMICS OF ENZYMATIC HYDROLYSIS OF CELLULOSE RELY SUBSTANTIALLY ON THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH CELLULASE PRODUCTION. CELLULASE PRODUCTION ACCOUNTS FOR 20% OF THE ETHANOL PRODUCED. PREVIOUS RESEARCHERS HAVE INCREASED CELLULASE PRODUCTION WITH MUTANT MICROORGANISMS AND CULTURE ENHANCEMENT. RESEARCHERS IN JAPAN HAVE SHOWN THAT SOLID-STATE CULTURE OF THE MICROORGANISMS INCREASES THE CELLULASE ACTIVITY OVER SUBMERGED CULTURE. HOWEVER, U.S. RESEARCHERS HAVE TENDED TO IGNORE JAPANESE RESULTS BECAUSE THEY SAY SOLID-STATE CULTURES ARE DIFFICULT TO MONITOR AND CONTROL AND ARE THEREFORE UNECONOMICAL TO OPERATE. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH IS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE ECONOMICS OF CELLULASE PRODUCTION CAN BE IMPROVED BY USING AN IMPROVED SOLID-STATE CULTURE REACTOR DEVELOPED BY RTI WITH SELECTED STRAINS OF TRICHODERMA REESEI. TASKS INCLUDE DEVELOPMENT OF A SUITABLE SUBSTRATE FOR SOLID-STATE CULTURE OF T. REESEI, COMPARISON OF THE CELLULASE COMPLEX PRODUCED IN SOLID STATE VERSUS SUBMERGED CULTURE OF T. REESEI, FERMENTATION TESTS, AND THE RESULTS USED FOR ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF SOLID-STATE CELLULASE PRODUCTION.