Improved sugarcane bagasse saccharification with whey: a strategy to overcome unproductive enzyme adsorption

The use of additives during the conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels is a promising strategy to overcome the low yield of the saccharification step. This study evaluated the potential of whey, a by-product of the dairy industry, as a cost-effective additive to minimize unproductive enzyme adsorption during the sugarcane bagasse conversion. The impact of whey in sugarcane bagasse conversion was compared to bovine serum albumin (BSA). The steam-exploded pretreated sugarcane bagasse was saccharified with the Chrysoporthe cubensis:Talaromyces pinophilus enzymes blend (2.5 FPU/g biomass) during 72 h, using BSA and Whey (107 mg protein/g lignin) to compare the additives effect. The enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated sugarcane bagasse in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA) resulted in up to a 30% increase in glucose release compared to the same treatment conducted without this non-catalytic protein. Similarly, hydrolysis using protein whey (PW) and whole whey (WW) without preincubation led to glucose yield increases of 26% and 53%, respectively. Notably, WW demonstrated a superior lignin-blocking effect compared to BSA, as evidenced by the concentration of free protein in the WW treatment being six times higher than in the BSA treatment. So, the use of whey as a potential lignin- blocking agent exerts a beneficial effect on the saccharification of sugarcane bagasse that allows the enzymes to be free in the reaction medium acting more effectively on the biomass.