Single cell protein production from bagasse pith pretreated with sodium hydroxide at room temperature

Summary

Previous publications have revealed that a pretreatment of lignocellulosic wastes is necessary if they are to be employed as the hydrocarbon source of single cell protein production. A hot alkaline treatment is the most common.

We have treated sugar cane bagasse pith with 1% NaOH solution at room temperature, at a NaOH/pith ratio of 10%. Different contact times were used in the experiments. The shortest contact period required for maximum protein production was 24 h at 25° C. A mixed culture of Cellulomonas sp. and Bacillus subtilis was used in the experiments. The values obtained for hemicellulose and cellulose in the treated pith did not differ greatly from those of untreated pith, in contrast the amount of lignin was 33% lower in the treated pith. The effect of reutilization of the alkaline liquor used for the pretreatment of pith upon protein production was also investigated. With four recyclings, there was a NaOH saving of 34.4 kg per 100 kg produced protein as compared to when the liquor was only used once.

The quality of the resulting effluents, as measured by the chemical oxygen demand (COD), proved to be very similar for both types of treatment.