Glucose is a feedstock for many alternative fuels from ethanol to algae derived gasoline. Cellulose is a renewable and naturally abundant polymer of glucose present in almost all waste plant biomass in significant quantities. Current methods of chemical/mechanical decomposition of cellulose to glucose are economically unfeasible and environmentally unfriendly. Enzymes provide an eco-friendly means of decomposing cellulose, but the process is too slow and therefore uncompetitive for large-scale industrial use. This project was designed to elucidate the kinetics and to increase the efficiency of the enzymatic decomposition of cellulose. Using a cellulase system from Tricoderma Reesei, sonication (ultrasound) was looked at as a possible eco-friendly and efficient means of increasing the accessibility of the enzymes to the cellulose structure (Avicel), thereby significantly increasing glucose yields. Two methods of analysis were used to quantify results: A glucose assay kit analyzed using a microplate spectrofluorometer, and a HPLC/Photodiode Array (PDA) interface.

Increasing the efficiency of the enzymatic decomposition of cellulose to glucose as a feedstock for biofuels

239th National Meeting (2010)

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