Abstract
Enzymatic saccharification of cellulosic biomass is an essential technology for the production of bioethanol and other industrial chemicals. The development of an immobilized cellulase enables to save the cost of cellulase by reuse. Furthermore, it would be ideal if the enzyme support could be recycled after the deactivation. A functional lignin-based material, lignocresol was synthesized from hinoki wood meal by the phase separation treatment with p-cresol and 72% sulfuric acid. Lignocresol physically adsorbs Trichoderma reesei cellulase and functions as an immobilized cellulase. The changes of pH and salt concentration hardly detached the cellulase from lignocresol-immobilized cellulase. Treating with acetone or ethanol was effective. Most of lignocresol was dissolved in organic solvents and then regenerated in diethyl ether. The recovery yields of the lignocresols were 90% by acetone and 72% by ethanol with very tiny or nearly zero residual cellulase. Lignocresol derived from softwood like hinoki has a larger protein adsorption capacity than that from hardwood, and can be easily separated only with organic solvents. Hinoki lignocresol is a new type of recyclable enzyme support.
