Sago Pith Residue as an Alternative Cheap Substrate for Fermentable Sugars Production

Abstract

Sago pith residue is one of the most abundant lignocellulosic biomass which can serve as an alternative cheap substrate for fermentable sugars production. This residue is the fibrous waste left behind after the starch extraction process and contains significant amounts of starch (58%), cellulose (23%), hemicellulose (9.2%) and lignin (3.9%). The conversion of sago pith residue into fermentable sugars is commonly performed using cellulolytic enzymes or known as cellulases. In this study, crude cellulases were produced by two local isolates, Trichoderma asperellum UPM1 and Aspergillus fumigatus, UPM2 using sago pith residue as substrate. A. fumigatus UPM2 gave the highest FPase, CMCase and β-glucosidase activities of 0.39, 23.99 and 0.78 U/ml, respectively, on day 5. The highest activity of FPase, CMCase and β-glucosidase by T. asperellum UPM1 was 0.27, 12.03 and 0.42 U/ml, respectively, on day 7. The crude enzyme obtained from A. fumigatus UPM2 using β-glucosidase as the rate-limiting enzyme (3.9, 11.7 and 23.4 IU) was used for the saccharification process to convert 5% (w/v) sago pith residue into reducing sugars. Hydrolysis of sago pith residue using crude enzyme containing β-glucosidase with 23.4 IU, produced by A. fumigatus UPM2 gave higher reducing sugars production of 20.77 g/l with overall hydrolysis percentage of 73%.

Acid Modification of Sago Hampas for Industrial Purposes

“…Sago pith flour, as a part of the dry extraction production, contains a high amount of starch (86%), while, as a by-product from the inefficient wet extraction process, sago hampas contains approximately 55% starch and 15% fiber on a dry weight basis. Composition of this sago hampas was similar to that reported by Lingga et al (2012) which showed 58% starch, compared to Awg-Adeni et al (2013) who reported a lower starch content (30-45%) and higher fiber content (30-35%).…”

“…Hampas also contains high amounts of cellulose (11%), hemicellulose (7.6%), and lignin (12%) (Utami et al 2014); Abd-Aziz (Lingga et al 2012), a source for biohydrogen production (Jenol et al 2014), and a composite material for biofoam production (Lai et al 2013;Utami et al 2014;Rao and Kumar 2015).…”

Adsorption of methylene blue from aqueous solution using untreated and treated (Metroxylon spp.) waste adsorbent: equilibrium and kinetics studies

“…When used on a dry basis, sago hampas contains 58 % starch, 23 % cellulose, 9.2 % hemicellulose and 4 % lignin [28]. Sago hampas is the starchy lignocellulosic by-product from the pith of Metroxylon sagu (sago palm) following the starch extraction process [26].…”

Sago Palm

“…According to Abd-Aziz (2002), the composition of sago pith waste on a dry weight basis contains 65.7% starch, 14.8% crude fiber, 1% crude protein, 4.1% ash, and 59.1% moisture. Linggang et al (2012) reported that sago pith waste contains 58% starch, 23% cellulose, 9.2% hemicellulose, and 4% lignin on a dry basis. Awg- Adeni et al (2013) state that on a dry basis, the proportions of sago pith waste consist of 30-45% starch, 5-7% ash, 1% protein, and 4.6-4.7% fiber.…”