| The treatment of animal waste offers environmental and economical benefits. Anaerobic digestion of animal waste is a treatment option with energy production potential. Lignocellulose, a large fraction of these wastes, is slowly degraded by anaerobic consortia and more rapidly hydrolyzed by the cellulase of Trichoderma reesei. Cellulase production with T. reesei must be economized to add value to waste. In this study, low cost media and contaminant control methods were developed. The low cost media based on whey permeate provided similar cellulase production to the defined lactose control at 3% lactose. Low cost contaminant control methods such as disinfection, pasteurization, and robust fermentation were all validated. The increase in CO2 production observed with increased cellulase addition suggested manure cellulose hydrolysis occurred. |
