Process development for fungal cellulase production and enzymatic saccharification of Parthenium hysterophorus for bioethanol production

Parthenium hysterophorus (PH), often known as parthenium weed, is one of the seventh most devastating weeds in the world. The primary aim of the study was to produce and optimize fungal FPase enzymes under solid-state fermentation (SSF) conditions for application in enzymatic hydrolysis to produce bioethanol. The impact of various physiological factors was verified through a systematic approach, initially using the one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) method. Further optimization was carried out using statistical tools by response surface methodology (RSM), selecting three variables, i.e., lactose concentration, peptone concentration, and pH level. The outcomes of this research demonstrated that the RSM-based model led to the optimization of enzyme activity, resulting in 4.08U/ml of FPase, with a lactose concentration of 1.62 %, a peptone concentration of 1.5 %, and a pH level of 6 being the ideal conditions. When employing the FPase enzyme for biomass hydrolysis, the maximum yield of reducing sugar, at 0.37 ± 0.01 g/g, was achieved within a 96-hour period, using enzyme and substrate levels of 30 FPU/100 ml and 3 % (w/v), respectively. Fermentation of enzymatic hydrolysate was carried out by Saccharomyces cerevisiae at 30 °C, pH 6.0, and 120 rpm, which resulted in 0.45g/g ethanol yield after 48 h. Overall, our findings reveal that PH biomass can be introduced into sugar-based biorefineries to produce biofuels and other valuable chemicals.