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Controlled adsorption of cellulase onto pretreated corncob by pH adjustment

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Abstract

The effective recycling of cellulase requires an in-depth understanding of cellulase adsorption and desorption. In the present study, we examined the adsorption behaviors and stabilities of cellulase at different pH values. Acidic pH (<4.8) was found to favor adsorption, whereas neutral and alkaline pH (especially pH 7 and 10) favored desorption. The influence of pH on cellulase activity was temperature dependent. Under mild conditions (e.g., pH 7 and 25 °C), the effect of pH on cellulase activity was reversible, and the cellulase activity can return to almost 100% by adjusting the pH value to 4.8. However, under severe conditions (e.g. pH 10 and 50 °C), irreversible inactivation may take place. We also explored the roles of pH and temperature in cellulase adsorption kinetics and isotherms. At pH 4.8, temperature had no remarkable effect on the adsorption capacity of the cellulases onto substrate. However, at pH 7 and 10, high temperatures lead to more cellulase desorption. Only at pH 4.8 does cellulase adsorption well fit (R 2 > 0.96) the pseudo-first-order kinetic and Langmuir adsorption isotherm (R 2 > 0.99) models.

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Abbreviations

CBD:

Cellulose-binding domain

SAA:

Soaking in aqueous ammonia

SAA-CC:

SAA-corncob

FPU:

Filter paper unit

NREL:

National renewable energy laboratory

HPLC:

High-performance liquid chromatography

CEL-SELP:

Cellulolytic enzyme lignin from steam-exploded Lodgepole pine

CEL-EPLP:

Cellulolytic enzyme lignin from ethanol (organosolv)-pretreated Lodgepole pine

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial supports received from Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 20976130 and 20806057), Open Funding Project of the State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, the R&D program of Tianjin New Area (2010-BK17C004), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in Chinese University (2011), and the Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities of China (B06006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Tianjin Key Laboratory of Membrane Science and Desalination Technology, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, People’s Republic of China

    Ruoyu Du, Rongxin Su, Xuan Li, Xiaowei Tantai, Jifeng Yang, Wei Qi & Zhimin He

  2. State Key Laboratory of Bioreactor Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Rongxin Su

  3. 7F, No. 5 Building of Creative Plaza, No. 865 Creative Road, Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city, Tianjin, 300467, People’s Republic of China

    Zhaohui Liu

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  1. Ruoyu Du
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  3. Xuan Li
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  8. Zhimin He
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Correspondence to Rongxin Su.

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Du, R., Su, R., Li, X. et al. Controlled adsorption of cellulase onto pretreated corncob by pH adjustment. Cellulose 19, 371–380 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10570-012-9653-0

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