ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF CELLULOSE DEGRADING MICROORGANISM FROM SAWDUST IN UMUAHIA, ABIA STATE, NIGERIA.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0       INTRODUCTION

Sawdust is composed of fine particles of wood. This material is produced from cutting with a saw hence its name. It is the main by-product of wood processing in sawmills and is generally regarded as a waste, unless reprocessed into particle board, burnt in sawdust burner or used to make heat for other milling operations. Sawdust may collect in piles and add harmful leachates into water systems and block the water ways thereby creating an environmental hazard. Water-borne bacteria digest organic material in leachate, but use up much of the available oxygen. This high "biological  oxygen  demand"  can suffocate fish and other organisms. There is an equally detrimental effect on beneficial bacteria, so it is not at all advisable to use sawdust within home aquariums, as was once done by hobbyists seeking to save some expense on activated charcoal (Liu et al., 1998). Sawdust if burnt, produce very thick smoke with high environmental consequences. Wastes and their disposal is a subject of environmental concern worldwide especially when they are non biodegradable to useful goods and services (Banjo and Kubuoye, 2000). Wood is made up of cellulose and lignin. Lignin makes up of about a third of the mass of typical wood and also adds great strength to the wood. It is a complex set of aromatic molecules. Cellulose is a polymer of sugars (Anderson et al., 2007). Cellulose fibrils have high tensile strength which is used  in the textile industry, paper and miscellaneous materials like vulcanized fibre, plastic filters, filtering media and surgical cotton.

Cellulolytic activity is the ability to degrade cellulose which is an important component of plant and has been reported to be recalcitrant. Sawdust is a material produced from cutting wood with a saw and has a high percentage of cellulose. It is the main by-product of wood processing in sawmills and can be processed into particles board, burnt in sawdust burner, used on poultry floors or used to make heat for other milling operations (Eze et al., 2010). When not used as these, it is required as a waste which is disposed of and eventually collected in piles and harmful leachates into water system and block water ways which create environmental hazards.  If burnt, they produce very thick smoke with high environmental consequences (Lennox et al., 2010). Wood is made up of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin.  The complete degradation of these compounds requires enzymes that act synergistically. Microbes have been found to play important roles in cellulose degradation (Haita et al.,2002). Lignocellulose is one of the earth's most abundant, renewable resources and its degradation and utilization by microorganisms is considered very important. Wood sawdust has been reported to be degradable Lentinus squarrolusi (Erikson et al.,) Fungi such as Zycomycet, Hymenomycetes, Actinomycetes and bacteria groups  such as  Cytophaga, Erwinia, Pseudomonas, streptomonas and Pleurotus ostoratus have been reported to degrade hemicelluloses (Cullen et al 1992). Other uses include adhesives, explosives, thickening agents, coated paper, cellophane, artificial leather, films and foils (Hitchner and Leatherwood, 1982). Biodegradation is the natural process of breaking down organic pollutants by microorganisms to harmless compound or recycling wastes to nutrients, which can be used by other organisms. Degradation is carried out by  huge assortment of bacteria, fungi, insects, worms and other organisms that eat materials and recycle them into new forms (Singleton and Sambury,1998). The end products of effective biodegradation are non- toxic such carbon dioxide and water and can be accommodated without harm to the environment and living organisms. The microorganism, multiply in numbers in the process (Okpokwasili, 1994). The economic uses of sawdust include usage in ice houses to keep ice frozen during the summer, until the advent of refrigerator. It is used as platforms in poultry houses, cow pens and horse stalls and it is mixed with dirt and chicken manure for compositing. Sawdust is also used for energy production in the United States of America (Clasen and Gaddy,2002).

1.1     Aims and Objective.

i. To isolate, identify cellulose degrading microorganism from sawdust.

ii. To isolate, identify cellulose degrading fungi from sawdust.

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