Biotechnological applications of cellulases and xylanases

Abstract

In the 1970s, the global oil shortage caused many industries to focus on the use of cellulases and xylanases in the
production of biofuels. Bioethanol, bio-butanol, acetoin, and 2,3-butanediol are produced by the breakdown of cellulose and
hemicellulose by cellulase and xylanase. Today, ethanol production is not only necessary due to the oil crisis, but it also
drastically reduces greenhouse gas emissions. This makes bioethanol the most common and widely used renewable fuel today.
Bioethanol derived from lignocellulose is environmentally friendly and the process involves pretreatment, enzymatic
degradation of polysaccharides into fermentable monosaccharides, and then fermentation of these sugars to bioethanol.
Enzymatic saccharification of biomass is considered a vital step that contributes greatly to the overall production cost, and this
process can be improved by using thermostable enzymes produced from thermophilic microorganisms.
Currently, advances in metabolic and genetic engineering, molecular microbiology, and structural biochemistry have
facilitated the synthesis of thermostable cellulases and xylanases. The use of thermostable cellulases and xylanases for the
conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into value-added green products can be applied in many sectors, but there are still many
approaches that need to be explored and developed.