Conversion of corncob to sugars by microbial hydrolysis

Abstract

The possibility of using corncob as a raw material for enzymatic hydrolysis to sugars was investigated. The effects of particle size of corncob, hydrolysis temperature, hydrolysis time, and strains of bacteria isolated from Thai higher termites were studied. In the experiments, 1.5-1.6 g of corncob obtained from River Kwai International Food Industry Co., Ltd., 4-7 g of bacteria cells, and 1 L of production medium were used. The studied parameters included the particle size of corncob (40 and 60 mesh), temperature (30 and 37 ℃), and bacteria strain (A 002 and M 015) isolated from Thai higher termites, Microcerotermes sp. The products were identified and analyzed by a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a refractive index detector. Cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and extractive contents of the raw corncob were 47.37, 31.26, 17.06, and 3.32%, respectively. The maximum amount of glucose from the hydrolysis reaction with strain A 002 bacteria and 60 mesh size corncob at 37 ℃ was 1.08 g/L.