Preparation of nanocellulose crystal from bleached pulp with an engineering cellulase and co-production of ethanol

The study investigated the feasibility of co-production of nanocellulose crystal (CNC) and ethanol using the bleached pine kraft pulp (BPKP) as a substrate by enzymatic hydrolysis. An engineering strain Penicillum oxalicum cEES-XM was constructed to produce suitable cellulase used in enzymatic hydrolysis of BPKP for preparing CNC. The cellulase from Trichoderma reesei SCB18 was used for simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of residues and hydrolysates from enzymatic hydrolysis for producing ethanol. The result showed that the CNC yield reached 7.35 % (w/w) by hydrolysis at 10 % solid content, and the final ethanol concentration was 13.27 mg/mL in fermentation liquor. Using SEM, XRD, TGA, and DLS methods, the characteristics of CNC including, morphology, crystallinity, thermal stability and particle size distribution, were also examined. This work provided a reference for realizing high-efficient application of cellulose in the pulp.