Potential of Utilizing Aged Bark-and-Wood Waste through Mycological Degradation as a Biotechnological Process

Analysis of the composition of bark-and-wood waste from a warehouse in the city of Syktyvkar has revealed a high nutrient content, no toxicity, and a potential for using xylotrophic basidiomycetes for solid state fermentation. Three strains of xylotrophic basidiomycetes (Trametes hirsuta, Fomitopsis pinicola, and Laetiporus sulphureus) have been evaluated for their growth rate, growth index, yield of hardly hydrolysable polysaccharides, and cellulase yield when cultivated on bark-wood waste. The results have shown that T. hirsuta exhibited the highest growth rate (4.95 to 6.2 mm/day), growth factor (60–77), and maximum yield of hardly hydrolysable polysaccharides (30.7%) during 30 days. Furthermore, the maximum cellulase yield was 1330 units/g.