Laccases are very interesting biocatalysts of recognized importance for several industrial applications. Its production by Trametes versicolor, a white-rot fungus, was induced by a combination of cotton gin wastes (1%), a lignocellulosic waste, and vinasse (15%), an industrial by-product from sugarcane industry. The use of these agro-industrial wastes are interesting, since it helps in reducing the enzyme production costs, due to their low cost and wide availability, as well as the environmental contamination issues, due to their improper disposal. Thus, laccase production was studied in submerged fermentation of T. versicolor using these agro-industrial wastes (cotton gin waste and vinasse) as carbon source and an additional nitrogen source (0.1% peptone). Three different bioreactors were evaluated for laccase production, such as BioFlo 310 bioreactor, aluminium tray and Erlenmeyer flasks to achieve high levels of laccase production. The highest specific production of laccase was found in BioFlo 310 bioreactor with 12 days of fermentation (55.24 U/mg prot.), which has been shown to be closely related to the oxygen supply to the microorganism through aeration of the fermentation medium. This study brings new insights into green biotechnology regarding vinasse utilization, which is frequently discharged in soils, rivers, and lakes causing adverse effects on agricultural soils and biota, as well as the cotton gin waste recovery.
Keywords: Aerated bioreactor; Cotton gin wastes; Laccase; Trametes versicolor; Tray; Vinasse.