Thesis (M. S.)--Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2010. / Committee Chair: Banerjee Sujit; Committee Member: Deng Yulin; Committee Member: Haynes Danny. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Aim work is compare yield GE at acid, alkalic and enzymatic hydrolysis cellulose phytomass at different acidity (H2SO4, 3, 6, 9 and 12%), fundamentals (NaOH, 3, 6, 9 and 12%) and while using different enzymatic preparations (6 preparations to hydrolysis celluloses and hemicelluloses). Further is assessed positive influence compressive extrusion (0,3MPa and 1MPa).

Litter decomposition requires the presence of corresponding degradative enzymes, produced mainly by fungi. Forest soils show considerable spatial heterogeneity of distribution of these enzymes at diferent scales. Moreover, enzyme pruduction varies during the year, usually accompanied by the change in fungal community composition. In this work I examined if this spatial heterogeneity can be seen even at a scale of an individual leaf and whether the fungal community differs among enzyme activity hotspots and inactive parts of the leaves. Another goal was isolation of celulytic fungi from cellulose litterbags incubated on forest floor using particle filtration and dilution-to-extinction method. In a broadleaved forest dominated by oak leaves at different stages of decay were collected: senescent leaves on twigs, and leaves after 2, 10 and 22 months of decomposition. Ten leaves per season were taken for analysis of cellobiohydrolase activity over the leaf surface. Leaves were attachmed onto melted agarose plate and leaf surface was covered with low melting point agarose containing fluorescently labelled substrate. For each leaf a map of enzyme activity was created and area with the high and low enzyme activity was identified. From both sites a square of approx. 1 cm2 was cut out, DNA was extracted and fungal...