Bioconversion of lignocellulose and simultaneous production of cellulase, ligninase and bioflocculants by Alcaligenes faecalis-X3

Abstract Lignocelluloses have been used as carbon sources for bioflocculant production. However, the low bioconversion efficiency of lignocellulose to bioflocculants is a major challenge. In this study, a lignocellulolytic strain of Alcaligenes faecalis-X3 was cultivated in ramie bio-degumming wastewater. Optimal production of ligninase, cellulase and bioflocculants (MBF-X3) was evaluated. The highest activity of MBF-X3 under the optimal conditions of pH 6.0 at 48 h of fermentation was 95.44%, with the maximum production of ligninase and cellulase (0.27 and 0.12 U/mL, respectively). The crude ligninase and cellulase had optimum activities at pH 5.0 and 40 °C and pH 6.0 and 50 °C, respectively. The cellulase activity was increased by Mn2+, Ca2+, Zn2+, and Mg2+ at 1 mM. The ligninase activity was significantly enhanced in the presence of Zn2+ at 10 mM. The flocculating activity of MBF-X3 was not changed by the addition of any metal cation. The results demonstrated that A. faecalis possesses an excellent enzyme system for the efficient bioconversion of lignocellulose into MBF-X3. Additionally, MBF-X3 has a high flocculating efficiency of Disperse Blue-2BLN (85.7%) at a dose of 1.0 g/L.