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Cellulases pp 283-297 | Cite as

Test of Efficacy of Cellulases for Biomass Degradation

Protocol
First Online:
Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB, volume 1796)

Abstract

Testing of cellulases on real biomass samples is required to do a true assessment of their efficacy for biomass degradation. Cellulase enzymes belong to a number of different glycosyl hydrolase families, all with different activity, specificity and modes of action. The concerted and synergistic action of these different cellulases determines the efficacy for plant cell wall deconstruction and cellulose hydrolysis. However, the plant cell wall of lignocellulosic materials is a very complex matrix and the efficacy of a cellulase preparation to degrade lignocellulosic materials is influenced by many factors. In this chapter, two protocols for testing efficacy of cellulases on pretreated biomass samples are described. The first protocol describes a small-scale setup employing low solids concentration that easily enables the testing of a larger number of samples. The second protocol describes a method for testing the efficacy of cellulases at conditions more closely resembling industrial conditions, i.e., high solids concentrations. Both protocols can be used to test the cellulases under a variety of substrate types, substrate concentrations, enzyme loadings and process conditions. The protocols can also be used to evaluate different feedstocks.

Key words

Cellulases Enzyme assays Lignocellulose Cellulose High solids hydrolysis 
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Notes

Acknowledgment

The author acknowledges all present and former colleagues and students at The Biomass Science and Technology Group, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen and Center for Bioprocess Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark for their contribution to develop, validate, and implement the protocols presented in this chapter. Many thanks to Dr. David Cannella from The Biomass Science and Technology Group, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen for reviewing the manuscript.

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© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of ScienceUniversity of CopenhagenFrederiksberg CDenmark

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