An universal stoichiometric relationship between weight loss and glucose formation in the Enzymatic treatment of cellulosic fibers with cellulase from flamentous fungi

Abstract

Enzymatic hydrolysis of some natural and regenerated cellulosic fibers was studied by use of a cellulase originated from filamentous fungi. For the hydrolysis of each of cotton, hemp, rayon, and Tencel ®, a good linear plot was attained between the total weight decrease and the amount of the produced glucose. These linear plots obtained for the four cellulosic fibers were found to be on a common master line, regardless of their different hydrolyzability and morphology in conjunction with the enzyme accessibility to the fiber surface. This universal linearity may be explained by the competitive reactions between exoglucanase, endoglucanase, and b-glucoxidase involved in the cellulase. A more technologically important linear relationship was also observed at the reaction conditions where the enzymatic activity was lowered or other contaminants as surfactants were present. These experimental data can be applied for monitoring the real weight decrease during the enzymatic treatment of the cellulosic fibers.