Sweet Sorghum Bagasse Pretreatment by Coriolus versicolor in Mesh Tray Bioreactor for Selective Delignification and Improved Saccharification

Fungal pretreatment of sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB) by solid state fermentation (SSF) studied in a Mesh tray bioreactor. In pretreatment by using Coriolus versicolor, optimal mesh size in tray and humid airflow into bioreactor overcame the problems of SSF and improved fungal growth; increased the production of lignolytic enzymes laccase, lignin peroxidase, manganese peroxidase, polyphenol peroxidase, aryl alcohol oxidase by 1.9, 1.85, 2.6, 2.0, 1.9 folds respectively; hemicellulolytic enzyme xylanase by 1.8 folds and decreased cellulolytic enzymes production. Altered lignocellulolytic enzyme profiles resulted in high lignin degradation 46.09 ± 2.0% w w⁻¹, high selectivity value 5.98 and low cellulose loss 7.7 ± 0.3% w w⁻¹. Enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated SSB yielded higher (~ 2.47 times) fermentable sugar. Characterizations of SSB by SEM, XRD, FTIR, TGA/DTG supported the results. Mesh tray bioreactor could be used for fungal pretreatment and enzyme productions by SSF of waste biomass.