Optimizing cellulase mixtures for maximum rate and extent of hydrolysis. Final report

Pure Thomomonospora fusca and Trichoderma reesei cellulases and their mixtures were studied to determine the optimal set of cellulases for biomass hydrolysis. The objective was to reduce the cost of cellulase in order to help lower the overall processing cost of the enzymatic conversion of biomass cellulose to sugars, which can then be fermented into fuels and other energy-intensive chemicals. No cellulase mixture was obtained that was much better than the best commercially available preparations. However, the study has greatly increased knowledge of T. fusca cellulases, synergism, and cellulose binding, and provide evidence that future work will produce cellulases with higher activity in degrading crystalline cellulose. T. fusca cellulases may have good industrial potential because: (1) they are compatible with industrial processes that operate at elevated temperatures; (2) they retain 90% of their activity under neutral or basic conditions, which provides a great deal of flexibility in reactor design and operation; and (3) tools are now available to change specific amino acid residues in their catalytic domains and to assess how these changes influence catalysis. 74 refs