Production of pectinases by Aspergillus niger was successfully carried out through solid state fermentation. Orange pomace was used as substrate to produce pectinases using a wild type of A. niger isolated from a rotten orange texture. Some of the important parameters affecting exo- and endo-pectinases activities such as temperature, moisture, C/N ratio were optimized. The results indicated that the produced pectinases exhibited maximum activity in temperature range of 45-55 °C and the maximum enzyme productivity occurred at 70% moisture content and C/N ratio of 10. The enzyme kinetic was studied using Michaelis-Menten and Logistic model and the equation were fitted to experimental data for both exo- and endo-pectinases activities. In evaluation of kinetic model, it was found that Monod model presented perfectly fitted with experimental data. Monod kinetic parameters [Formula: see text] for exo-pectinase activities were [Formula: see text] mM, respectively. The Monod kinetic parameters [Formula: see text] for endo-pectinase activity were [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] respectively. Finally, the performances of the produced pectinases were evaluated on natural apple juice. It was confirmed that concentration of soluble sugar, clarity and viscosity of the juice and the yield of extracted juice were significantly improved by the enzymatic hydrolysis activity of pectinases.
Keywords: Aspergillus niger; Kinetic study; Pectinase; Pomace; Solid state fermentation.