Cynara cardunculus a novel substrate for solid-state cellulases production and sugar hydrolysates

Second generation sugars represent a versatile platform for the production of both biofuels and chemicals. Both costs and ready availability of well balanced cellulase preparations are among the major constraints in the enzymatic saccharification yet. Solid state fermentation (SSF), using agro-industrial residues as substrates, offers a big potential for the containment of the cellulase production costs. In this research work, artichoke thistle (Cynara cardunculus), a perennial herbaceous Mediterranean species has been evaluated as a low cost substrate for the production of both cellulases and sugar hydrolysates. Results from this study showed that C. cardunculus spent biomass represents an optimal low cost substrate for the solid-state production of cellulolytic enzymes from A. tubingensis. The optimized use of this enzymatic cocktail enabled the attainment of hydrolysis yields that did not differ significantly from those obtained with benchmark commercial enzymes. © 2018 ETA-Florence Renewable Energies.