Abstract

Cellulases are a group of hydrolytic enzymes capable of degrading cellulose to the smaller glucose units. These enzymes are produced by fungi and bacteria.  The solid waste of sago industry using cassava tubers was fermented by Aspergillus niger,Aspergillus terreus and Rhizopus stolonifer in solid state fermentation. The cassava waste contained dry wt of 13.4% cellulose and 2.9% protein by dry weight. The highest cellulase activity was observed on the 10^th day in R. stolonifer mediated fermentation.R. stolonifer was more efficient in bioconverting cassava waste into fungal protein (9%) compared to A. niger and A. terreus.

Key words: Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus terreus, Rhizopus stolonifer, cellulase, solid state fermentation, cassava waste.