Comparison of the hydrolytic activity of commercial cellulase preparations

Enzymatic hydrolysis of SO2-impregnated, steam-pretreated aspen and spruce wood fractions was carried out at 2% and 10% substrate concentrations, using five commercial cellulase preparations supplemented with excess of a commercial ß-glucosidase in order to obtain a common level of hydrolytic activity. Pretreated aspen wood was found to be more readily hydrolysed than pretreated spruce wood which appeared to contain inhibitory material detrimental to the cellulase enzymes. All five commercial cellulase preparations, when supplemented to the same level of ß-glucosidase activity, exhibited similar hydrolysis profiles on the pretreated substrates.