A study of the hydrolysis of waste paper cellulose with a vertically hanging immobilized cellulase reactor and the reuse of the immobilized cellulase

A commercialized cellulase from Trichoderma reesei has been successfully immobilized by using calcium alginate gel in our laboratory. The waste paper cellulose was hydrolyzed with a special design of the reactor to form a vertically hanging immobilized cellulase under the optimum conditions of pH 4.0 and 45 degrees C. Glucose, cellobiose and xylose are the major hydrolysis products. The glucose production from the hydrolysis with the vertically hanging immobilized cellulase was about 1.73-fold better than the freely suspended immobilized cellulase. The average diameter of the immobilized cellulase pellets was 4.190 +/- 0.291 mm. UV light irradiation deactivates the activity of the immobilized cellulase. The advantage of the vertically hanging immobilized cellulase reactor is an easy recycle and reuse of the immobilized cellulase. Washing and soaking the recycled immobilized cellulase with distilled water for one day can restore its activity to a small extent. Overall, the application of the hanging immobilized cellulase reactor for waste paper cellulose hydrolysis is successful.