CELLULOSE HYDROLYSIS BY CELLULOMONAS FIMI AND ETHANOL PRODUCTION BY ZYMOMONAS MOBILIS

lignocellulosic material is one of the most abundant and renewable resource on earth for conversion to readily utilizable hydrolyzate conversion .Degradation of lignin is a prerequisite for rendering cellulose for action by cellulose hydrolyzing enzymes. While various pretreatments have been proposed for lignin degradation use of oxidizing agent such as inorganic oxidants ozone, per acetic acid and hydrogen peroxide has been reported as effective for lignin degradation and cellulose hydrolysis.It is proposed to employ mechanical disintegration of paddy straw followed by treatment with MnSO4 and H2O2 as they enhance the susceptibility of rice straw to enzymatic saccharification. To initiate the production of industrially important products from lignocellulosic biomass, bioconversion of the lignocellulosic components into fermentable sugars is necessary that could be used for ethanol production. Cellulomonas is known to produce both cellulases and hemicellulases and it is used for the saccharification . This present study reports on the microbial pretreatment and saccharification of the agricultural residues like rice straw (raw material) using a bacterial strain Cellulomonas fimi (MTCC-24) and ethanol production by Zymomonas mobilis.