Abstract
Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell walls of green plants. It is mainly used for paper production, as well as for the production of a wide-range of other products. Cellulose properties depend on the lengths of the polymer chains with the number of glucose units. As the bonds between the glucose molecules are very strong, the process of cellulose degradation as compared with the other polysaccharides is relatively difficult.
Several types of cellulose are known depending on the types of trees and their structures. Their degradation is carried out in several ways from which enzyme technology is one of the more sustainable. The efficiency of enzymatic hydrolysis regarding lingo-cellulosic materials is a key step in the development of bio-refineries.
The aim of this study was to examine the possibilities and conditions for the enzymatic degradation of crude cellulose originating from three species of trees (coniferous, deciduous trees and eucalyptus). The structures of the deciduous and conifers are different. The ability of cellulose fibers for degradation is largely dependent on the relationships between the amorphous and crystalline regions. For the hydrolysis of cellulose enzyme cellulase was used. Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose is strongly dependent on the pH of the solution, therefore its optimum was found and the experiments were carried out within a narrow area of pH values. Within the so-called "acidic" medium, processes are much faster than in neutral or basic media. Based on comparisons between the reaction yields the type of cellulose with a more effective and fast degradation to glucose was determined.
