Screening of Fungal Strains for Cellulolytic and Xylanolytic Activities Production and Evaluation of Brewers’ Spent Grain as Substrate for Enzyme Production by Selected Fungi

Brewer’s spent grain (BSG), the solid residue of beer production, is attracting significant attention as raw material for the production of added value substances, since until recently it was mainly used as animal feed or deposited in landfills, causing serious environmental problems. Therefore, this work aimed at developing a bioprocess using BSG as a substrate for the production of cellulases and xylanases for waste saccharification and bioenergy production. Different fungi were analyzed for their cellulolytic and xylanolytic abilities, through a first screening on solid media by assessment of fungal growth and enzyme production on agar containing carboxylmethylcellulose or xylan as the sole carbon source, respectively. The best cellulase and xylanase producers were subjected to quantitative evaluation of enzyme production in liquid cultures. Aspergillus niger LPB-334 was selected for its ability to produce cellulase and xylanase at high levels and it was cultivated on BSG by solid state fermentation. The cellulase production reached a maximum of 118.04 ± 8.4 U/g of dry substrate after 10 days of fermentation, while a maximum xylanase production of 1315.15 ± 37.5 U/g of dry substrate was reached after 4 days. Preliminary characterization of cellulase and xylanase activities and identification of the enzymes responsible were carried out.