Zafar, W: Exploitation of Saccharum spontaneum for Cellulase

Lignocellulosic biomass is a renewable and abundant resource with great potential for bioconversion to value-added bioproducts like enzymes. Cellulase is the potential industrial enzyme because of its utility in many tremendous industries and bioconversion of lignocellulosics into soluble sugars. Saccharum spontaneum has low lignin content as compared to cellulose and hemicellulose so it is a potential source for cellulase production. Pretreatment methods removes lignin from lignocellulose structure and also these methods can hydrolyze part of the hemicellulose and increases the enzyme accessibility to cellulose. My research efforts have been aimed in low cost, augmented celulase production by using pretreated Saccharum spontaneum and optimization of fermentation process using cellulolytic Bacillus species.