Comparative Study of Cellulase Production by Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma viride Using Solid State Fermentation On Cellulosic Substrates Corncob, Cane Bagasse and Sawdust

The enzyme activities of Trichoderma viride and Aspergillus niger grown on various waste cellulosic materials such as corncobs, saw dust and sugarcane baggase were tested for a period of 192 hrs. The maximum activity of 0.33 mg/min/ml & 0.026 mg/min/ml of cellulase enzyme were found to be produced on saw dust after 144 hrs by Aspergillus niger & Trichoderma viride, respectively. Corncob showed the highest activity at 120 hrs of 0.22 mg/min/ml & at 96 hrs of 0.0246 mg/min/ml by Aspergillus niger & Trichoderma viride, followed by sugarcane with the highest activity of 0.026 mg/min/ml & 0.0256 mg/min/ml 120 hrs by Aspergillus niger & Trichoderma viride, respectively. From the above results, Aspergillus niger produced the highest amount of cellulase activity with sawdust as substrate followed by Trichoderma viride by solid state fermentation.