Production and Characterisation of Cellulases from Semi-solid-state Fermentation of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch Using Various Fungi

In this study, an agricultural waste – oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) – was used as cellulose source in semi-solid-state fermentation (SSSF). This objective of this research is to produce cellulase using a monoculture SSSF system involving five fungal species: A. niger, T. reesei, T. viride, P. chrysogenum, and R. oryzae. Fermentation was conducted on OPEFB with a solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:20 in 200 mL Erlenmeyer flasks under continuous agitation in an incubator shaker at 35 °C for 9 days. Sampling on days 3, 5, 7, and 9 showed that A. niger attained the optimum fungal cellulase activity of 0.054 FPU/mL. Both T. reesei and T. viride exhibited moderate enzyme activity, while P. chrysogenum and R. oryzae displayed lower activity. HPLC analysis of Whatman No. 1 filter paper hydrolysate identified sugar profile, including glucose at retention time of 9.8 minutes. SDS-PAGE analysis revealed protein bands corresponding to the molecular weights of cellulase complexes and Cellic® CTec2.