Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Carboxymethylcellulose and Filter Paper by Immobilized Cellulases on Lignophenols

The cost of cellulase is a major factor limiting the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic biomass. Thus, immobilization of cellulase would be an important advancement. Lignophenol is a lignin-based functional phenolic polymer synthesized from a lignocellulosic material and a phenol derivative at ambient temperature. Cellulase derived from Trichoderma reesei is easily immobilized by softwood and hardwood lignocresol simply by mixing to produce a water-insoluble lignophenol-cellulase complex. Enzymatic hydrolysis performances of cellulases immobilized on lignocresols are approximately 80–90% and 30–50% relative to that of free cellulase in the hydrolysis of carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and filter paper, respectively. Cellulase was active enough even after adsorption on lignocresols. Limited physical contact between solid substrates and immobilized cellulase due to the presence of lignocresol seems to lead to lower enzymatic activity for solid substrates. Hardwood lignocresol-immobilized cellulase exhibits slightly higher activity than softwood lignocresol-immobilized cellulase when the same amount of cellulase is used per gram lignocresol. Although cellulase activity gradually decreases with recycling, sufficient enzymatic activity, at least for hydrolyzing soluble substrates, remains that it can be reused.