Effect of Clostridium thermocellum activity on enzymatic hydrolysis of alkaline peroxide pretreated wheat straw

In this study, the microbial activity of Clostridium thermocellum on the hydrolysis of raw and pretreated wheat straw (WS) was investigated. The microbial activity was compared with the activity of enzyme mixture. It was found that alkaline peroxide pretreatment improves both microbial and the enzymatic digestibility of WS. Activity of C. thermocellum on the pretreated biomass is almost equal to the activity of 35 mu l/g enzyme which is equal to 5% of enzyme usage for complete saccharification of pretreated biomass. It was observed that enzymatic saccharification after C. thermocellum activity increased sugar release by 6% as compared to the sole enzymatic digestion.