Cheap Cellulase Production by Aspergillus sp. VTM1 Through Solid State Fermentation of Coffee Pulp Waste

Abstract

Coffee pulp biomass waste can easily be found anywhere in Indonesia, considering it is the fourth world's largest coffee exporter. The utilization of coffee pulp is very limited and is categorized as a source of pollutants in water bodies and soils. In contrast, coffee pulp waste is very potential because 63% of the main compound is cellulose. Microbial utilization of this waste for enzyme production purposes, especially cellulase, is a breakthrough that may lead to reduce production costs. Initial investigations showed that Aspergillus sp. VTM1 through solid-state fermentation (SSF) could produce cellulases. Optimal cellulase could be produced if 10 g coffee pulp with 10% moisture is inoculated using 108 spores/mL of Aspergillus sp. VTM1 for 48 hours at 30 °C. Hydrolysis of 1% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) substrate in 50 mM acetate buffer pH 5 by this cellulase showed that the enzyme activity reached up to 1.18 U/mL. The optimum pH of the enzyme was 5 and stable at 3-3.5 and 4-7. The success of the first step of this investigation will be a cheap way of producing cellulases.