Characterization of a thermostable and alkaline xylanase from Bacillus sp. and its bleaching impact on wheat straw pulp
2012
Saleem, Mahjabeen | Aslam, Farheen | Akhtar, Muhammad Saleem | Tariq, Mohsin | Rajoka, Muhammad Ibrahim
Delignification efficacy of xylanases to facilitate the consequent chemical bleaching of Kraft pulps has been studied widely. In this work, an alkaline and thermally stable cellulase-less xylanase, derived from a xylanolytic Bacillus subtilis, has been purified by a combination of gel filtration and Q-Sepharose chromatography to its homogeneity. Molecular weight of the purified xylanase was 61 kDa by SDS–PAGE. The purified enzyme revealed an optimum assay temperature and pH of 60°C and 8.0, respectively. Xylanase was active in the pH range of 6.0–9.0 and stable up to 70°C. Divalent ions like Ca2+, Mg2+ and Zn2+ enhanced xylanase activity, whereas Hg2+, Fe2+, and Cu2+ were inhibitory to xylanase at 2 mM concentration. It showed K m and V max values of 9.5 mg/ml and 53.6 μmol/ml/min, respectively, using birchwood xylan as a substrate. Xylanase exhibited higher values of turn over number (K cat) and catalytic efficiency (K cat/K m) with birchwood xylan than oat spelt xylan. Bleach-boosting enzyme activity at 30 U/g dry pulp displayed the optimum bio-delignification of Kraft pulp resulting in 26.5% reduction in kappa number and 18.5% ISO induction in brightness at 55°C after 3 h treatment. The same treatment improved the pulp properties including tensile strength and burst index, demonstrating its potential application in pre-bleaching of Kraft pulp.
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