In the present study a strain of Bacillus subtilis-BS06 was cultivated in submerged
fermentation using agricultural wastes as substrates for carboxymethyl cellulase
(CMCase) production under static and with agitation speed of 140 rpm. The whole
fermentation experiments were carried out in 250ml Erlenmeyer flask. Different
agricultural wastes such as sugarcane bagasse, wheat straw, rice husk, defatted
soybean meal, corn cobs and wheat bran were exploited for CMCase production
using different media (medium 1 (M1), medium II (M-II), medium III (M-III) &
medium IV (M-IV)).Of all these tested substrates, sugarcane bagasse was found to
be the most suitable substrate for CMCase production. The effect of shaking on the
production of CMCase demonstrated that sugarcane bagasse gave maximum
CMCase activity (8.0 ± 0.32 IU) after 48h of fermentation period at 37oC with
agitation speed of 140 rpm by using medium components III (M-III) and also
medium M-IV. The highest enzyme production was observed in the following order;
sugarcane bagasse > wheat straw > rice husk, wheat bran > soybean meal >
corncobs. The crude CMCase enzyme was applied for saccharification of
agricultural wastes and maximum saccharification (11.45%) was observed in
bagasse. These results suggested its potential utilization in particular biofuel
industry.