Biological pretreatment of oil palm fronds (opf) by phanerochaete chrysosporium / Sia Hui Ying

Faculty of Industrial Sciences and Technology

Final Year Report (Bachelor of Applied Science in Industrial Biotechnology) -- Universiti Malaysia Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah - 2025

Include bibliographical reference

Oil palm fronds (OPF), an abundant lignocellulosic biomass from the palm oil industry, hold significant potential as a renewable biomass resource. However, the high lignin content in OPF presents a major challenge for effective cellulose utilization. This study investigates the biological pretreatment of OPF using the Phanerochaete chrysosporium in combination with surfactants (coco-glucoside and Tween 80) to enhance lignin degradation and cellulose release. Both submerged fermentation (SmF) and solid-state fermentation (SSF) methods were evaluated under controlled conditions, including particle sizes of 0.5 mm and 1.5 mm, at a temperature of 30°C, with agitation at 125 rpm, and an incubation period of 15 days. The chemical composition of the OPF was measured both before and after the pretreatment to allow for a comparison. Tween 80 exhibited slightly higher efficiency than coco-glucoside in increasing lignin solubility. After harvesting the OPF biomass, cellulase-based enzyme saccharification was carried out for 144 hours at 50°C. The DNS assay was applied to figure out the cellulose digestion percentage. The results demonstrated that the glucose yield was higher in 1.5 mm OPF than in 0.5 mm OPF in both fermentation methods. Additionally, it was discovered that Tween 80 significantly improved the release of glucose. These results imply that P. chrysosporium-based biological pretreatment may be a viable strategy for efficiently turning OPF into beneficial compounds