Abstract:
Cellulase enzyme is widely used in bioethanol industry. In bioethanol production,
cellulase is used to hydrolyze lignocellulosic materials into glucose, where
glucose is further converted into bioethanol through fermentation process. The
demand of cellulase in Indonesia is quite high, however almost 99% of Indonesia
industrial enzyme demands is fulfilled by imports. This situation might trigger a
new opportunity to build local cellulase enzyme plant in Indonesia. One of the
lignocellulosic biomass which has high potential as a substrate to produce
cellulase enzyme is Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (OPEFB) because it has
pretty high cellulose content, which reaches up to 41,3 – 46,5%. The
conventional method to for cellulase enzyme production is by utilizing
lignocellulosic fungi, but it is known that cellulase also can be produced by
bacteria with higher production rate. Several variables that affect enzyme activity
are pH and temperature. Therefore, this research will examine how is the activity
of cellulase enzyme produced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens BPPTCC-RK 2
recombinant by varying temperature and pH. The method that is used in this
observation is submerged fermentation (SMF). The measurement of cellulase
activity is conducted by using DNS method, while the protein content is measured
by using Lowry method. It has been shown that the highest activity of cellulase is
at 24 hours. The optimum pH and temperature are 7,0 and 400C respectively.
The Km and Vmax value are 0,11% and 2,907 U/mL respectively
