Comparison of humic acids production by Trichoderma viride and Trichoderma reesei using the submerged fermentation of oil palm empty fruit bunch

Abstract

The remarkable properties of humic acids have generated a broad spectrum of applications in pharmaceutical, cosmetic and agricultural fields, and encouraged fermentation studies focusing on humic acids production. This work compares the humic acids production of Trichoderma (viride and reesei) species using empty fruit bunch as the substrate during submerged fermentation. The performance of each species was compared by examining spore production in oat medium, and the significant medium components and fermentation conditions were identified using Plackett and Burman statistical design. For both Trichoderma species, the results indicate that humic acids production can be enhanced by increasing the temperature, empty fruit bunch and peptone concentrations and by decreasing the (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 concentration. T. reesei performed better than T. viride, generating 3-fold more of humic acids.

Characterization of lignocellulosic composition and residual lipids in empty fruit bunches from palm oil processing

“…Although similar proportions exist among the components, the lignocellulosic content was higher in Type 1 EFBs. Motta and Santana (2014) found in their studies with EFBs proportions of 12% lignin, 27% cellulose and 39% hemicellulose. Therefore, it is possible to affirm that the values found in the present study were within the range presented in the literature, emphasizing that the variation in the lignocellulosic composition often depends on the soil and the region the EFBs come from.…”

“…According to the literature, the use of EFBs in fermentation to obtain humic acids has already been studied (Motta and Santana, 2014). The results showed that EFBs are by-products with good potential for the production of humic acids using Trichoderma reesei, both in submerged fermentation and in solid state fermentation.…”

“…Studies have shown the potential of EFBs for use in some areas such as paper making and fabrication of reinforced materials (Hurter, Byrd, 2017;Rosazley et al, 2016). Motta and Santana (2014) showed the capacity of EFBs to produce humic acids through submerged fermentation and solid-state fermentation, using the fungus of Trichoderma genus. In addition, it is possible to extract carotenoids from the palm fruit mesocarp (Cardenas-Toro et al, 2015).…”