The effect of nonenzymatic protein on lignocellulose enzymatic hydrolysis and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation.

Nonenzymatic protein was added to cellulase hydrolysis and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of different biomass materials. Adding bovine serum albumin (BSA) and corn steep before cellulase enhanced enzyme activity in solution and increased cellulose and xylose conversion rates. The cellulose conversion rate of filter paper hydrolysis was increased by 32.5 % with BSA treatment. When BSA was added before cellulase, the remaining activity in the solution was higher than that in a control without BSA pretreatment. During SSF with pretreated rice straw as the substrate, adding 1.0 mg/mL BSA increased the ethanol yield by 13.6 % and final xylose yield by 42.6 %. The results indicated that lignin interaction is not the only mechanism responsible for the positive BSA effect. BSA had a stabilizing effect on cellulase and relieved cumulative sugar inhibition of enzymatic hydrolysis of biomass materials. Thus, nonenzymatic protein addition represents a promising strategy in the biorefining of lignocellulose materials.

Effect of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis.

Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was added to filter paper during the hydrolysis of cellulase. Adding BSA before the addition of the cellulase enhances enzyme activity in the solution, thereby increasing the conversion rate of cellulose. After 48 h of BSA treatment, the BSA adsorption quantities are 3.3, 4.6, 7.8, 17.2, and 28.3 mg/g substrate, each with different initial BSA concentration treatments at 50 °C; in addition, more cellulase was adsorbed onto the filter paper at 50 °C compared with 35 °C. After 48 h of hydrolysis, the free-enzyme activity could not be measured without the BSA treatment, whereas the remaining activity of the filter paper activity was approximately 41 % when treated with 1.0 mg/mL BSA. Even after 96 h of hydrolysis, 25 % still remained. Meanwhile, after 48 h of incubation without substrate, the remaining enzyme activities were increased 20.7 % (from 43.7 to 52.7 %) and 94.8 % (from 23.3 to 45.5 %) at 35 and 50 °C, respectively. Moreover, the effect of the BSA was more obvious at 35 °C compared with 50 °C. When using 15 filter paper cellulase units per gram substrate cellulase loading at 50 °C, the cellulose conversion was increased from 75 % (without BSA treatment) to ≥90 % when using BSA dosages between 0.1 and 1.5 mg/mL. Overall, these results suggest that there are promising strategies for BSA treatment in the reduction of enzyme requirements during the hydrolysis of cellulose.