Hazelnut shell (HS), husk and pruning residues were characterized and evaluated for xylooligosaccharides (XOS) production by autohydrolysis. HS contained the highest amount of xylan and yielded more XOS compared to other hazelnut residues. The temperature and holding time of HS autohydrolysis greatly influenced the composition of the liquor and the remaining solid. The highest XOS yield (62% of the feedstock xylan) was obtained at 190°C and 5min of holding time. At this temperature, 30min of holding time was required to maximize the percentage of XOS with low degree of polymerization. Xylose, acetic acid and furfural concentrations increased with treatment severity. The concentrations of the products in the autohydrolysis liquors followed specific trends with changing severity factor (log R) values. Solubilization of xylan in the treatments enhanced the cellulose and lignin contents in the remaining solids.

The effects of temperature, pH, and medium composition on lactic acid production by Lactobacillus casei were investigated. The highest lactic acid productivity values were obtained at 37 • C and pH 5.5. The productivity was 1.87 g dm −3 h −1 at 37 • C in shake flasks. In the fermenter, a productivity of 3.97 g dm −3 h −1 was obtained at pH 5.5. The most appropriate yeast extract concentration was 5.0 g dm −3 . Whey yielded a higher productivity value than the analytical lactose and glucose. Initial whey lactose concentration did not affect lactic acid productivity. MnSO 4 ·H 2 O was necessary for lactic acid production by L casei from whey. Product yields were approximately 0.93 g lactic acid g lactose −1 .

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The effect of pretreatments on the composition of the hazelnut tree pruning residue (HTPR) and on the digestibility of the cellulose was investigated. The liquid hot water (LHW) and the very dilute acid (VDA) treatments were effective in solubilizing hemicellulose. The cellulose conversion increased up to around 60% (corresponding to 32-36 g/L glucose) with decreasing hemicellulose concentration in the pretreated HTPR. The alkali treatment provided partial delignification, however, the glucose production was comparably lower. Combining the hemicellulose removal and the delignification effect of different pretreatments in two-stage processes (LHW-alkali and VDA-alkali treatments) enhanced the cellulose concentration in the solids, but not the amount of glucose released in the enzymatic digestion. These results suggested that the hemicellulose was the main barrier against the conversion of cellulose in the LHW and VDA treated HTPR and the glucose in the hydrolysis medium inhibited the cellulase activity, which prevented the complete conversion of cellulose.

The potential of several agricultural wastes and by-products (wheat bran, oat bran, corn cob, brewer's spent grain, malt sprout, artichoke stem, sugar beet pulp, olive seed, cotton stalk and hazelnut skin) was examined as the substrate for xylanase production by Aureobasidium pullulans Y-2311-1. Based on the screening studies, wheat bran was selected as the best substrate for further optimization studies. The effects of initial medium pH, temperature and incubation time on xylanase production in shake flask system were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM). The optimum levels of the process variables defined by the model (initial medium pH, 4.24; temperature, 30.27°C; and incubation time 126.67 h) resulted in production of 85.19 U/ml xylanase. Taking the RSM optimized parameters in shake-flask scale into consideration; xylanase production was scaled up to bioreactor system with a working volume of 1.5 l. The peak of enzyme production was achieved after 126 h incubation that has previously been determined by RSM studies at shake flask level. Furthermore, the optimum levels of agitation and aeration in bioreactor system was found as 200 rpm and 1.5 vvm. Maximum enzyme production was close to 85 kU/l which could be translated into a productivity of 0.68 kU/l/h. No previous work considered the statistical optimization of xylanase production by A. pullulans on wheat bran and scale up of the bioprocess to a bioreactor system.