4
S. Chatterjee et al.
1 Introduction
Human activities create wastes and these wastes are handled, stored, collected, and
disposed of so that they do not become a risk for the health and environment. With the
rapid increase in urbanization and population, the nature of solid waste has become
complexed. Municipal solid waste (MSW) is generally categorized as degradable
and nondegradable (Mehta et al. 2018). Wastes like paper, textile, fiber, food all
those composed of plant components are degradable in nature and other wastes
like plastic, metals, glass, e-wastes are termed as nondegradable. Characterization of
MSW indicated that the waste consists of 30–45% organic matter, 6–10% recyclables,
and the rest as inert matter (Kumar et al. 2009). The nature of waste suggests that
the main content of waste is cellulose, which is the component of plant cell wall.
Cellulose is a complex carbohydrate or polysaccharide consisting of several
glucose units linked together by β-1,4 glycosidic bond (Klemm et al. 2005). Abundant availability and accessibility of cellulose make it a long-term raw material
for producing many industrially important commercial products that will be costeffective and eco-friendly. But in the present juncture, much of the cellulose are
disposed of as waste all over the globe. Cellulose is mainly obtained from plants
hence if we are concerned about the environment and global warming, we must find
ways to utilize the cellulosic waste generated. This can be done by using cellulolytic
system, by which cellulose can be converted into glucose, which is a multiutility
product and has industrial value. Cellulolysis is a biological process for the degradation of cellulose that is effectively done by the cellulase enzyme system (Kumakura
1997).
The microbial system is the best source for the extraction of cellulose-degrading
enzyme. There is a large range of microorganisms that are responsible for cellulase production including aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, white rot and soft rot
fungi, and anaerobic fungi (Lynd et al. 2002). The cellulase enzymes isolated
from microbes can be used to degrade cellulose to produce glucose that can be
further utilized for the production of several industrially important products such as
bioethanol. Bioethanol is a striking alternative fuel as it is a renewable bio-based
resource, and it is oxygenated and hence provides the opportunity to reduce particulate emissions in compression–ignition engines (Balat 2007). Therefore, in the
present investigation, focus has been made to isolate cellulose-degrading bacteria
and utilizes its cellulolytic potential for degradation of paper waste for the production of bioethanol. Several studies showed the production of bioethanol from paper
waste using hydrolysis and fermentation (Wang et al. 2013; Maceiras et al. 2016).
2 Materials and Methods
2.1 Sample Collection
For isolation of cellulose-degrading bacteria (CDB), the soil samples were collected
from location of wood habitat manufacturing industry of Bawana, New Delhi, India
S. Chatterjee et al.
1 Introduction
Human activities create wastes and these wastes are handled, stored, collected, and
disposed of so that they do not become a risk for the health and environment. With the
rapid increase in urbanization and population, the nature of solid waste has become
complexed. Municipal solid waste (MSW) is generally categorized as degradable
and nondegradable (Mehta et al. 2018). Wastes like paper, textile, fiber, food all
those composed of plant components are degradable in nature and other wastes
like plastic, metals, glass, e-wastes are termed as nondegradable. Characterization of
MSW indicated that the waste consists of 30–45% organic matter, 6–10% recyclables,
and the rest as inert matter (Kumar et al. 2009). The nature of waste suggests that
the main content of waste is cellulose, which is the component of plant cell wall.
Cellulose is a complex carbohydrate or polysaccharide consisting of several
glucose units linked together by β-1,4 glycosidic bond (Klemm et al. 2005). Abundant availability and accessibility of cellulose make it a long-term raw material
for producing many industrially important commercial products that will be costeffective and eco-friendly. But in the present juncture, much of the cellulose are
disposed of as waste all over the globe. Cellulose is mainly obtained from plants
hence if we are concerned about the environment and global warming, we must find
ways to utilize the cellulosic waste generated. This can be done by using cellulolytic
system, by which cellulose can be converted into glucose, which is a multiutility
product and has industrial value. Cellulolysis is a biological process for the degradation of cellulose that is effectively done by the cellulase enzyme system (Kumakura
1997).
The microbial system is the best source for the extraction of cellulose-degrading
enzyme. There is a large range of microorganisms that are responsible for cellulase production including aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, white rot and soft rot
fungi, and anaerobic fungi (Lynd et al. 2002). The cellulase enzymes isolated
from microbes can be used to degrade cellulose to produce glucose that can be
further utilized for the production of several industrially important products such as
bioethanol. Bioethanol is a striking alternative fuel as it is a renewable bio-based
resource, and it is oxygenated and hence provides the opportunity to reduce particulate emissions in compression–ignition engines (Balat 2007). Therefore, in the
present investigation, focus has been made to isolate cellulose-degrading bacteria
and utilizes its cellulolytic potential for degradation of paper waste for the production of bioethanol. Several studies showed the production of bioethanol from paper
waste using hydrolysis and fermentation (Wang et al. 2013; Maceiras et al. 2016).
2 Materials and Methods
2.1 Sample Collection
For isolation of cellulose-degrading bacteria (CDB), the soil samples were collected
from location of wood habitat manufacturing industry of Bawana, New Delhi, India