Biodegradation of oil palm residues into compost using filamentous fungi

Abstract

A study was conducted on oil palm residues including empty fruit bunches (EFB) and palm oil mill effluent (POME) as a substrate for compost production using fungi. Fungal strains of Trichoderma virens, Trichoderma reesei and Aspergillus niger were used as an activator for the biodegradation process. Lignocellulosic content, enzyme production and macronutrient content of the substrate for each of the fungus biodegradation were analysed. Application of fungi into compost resulted in higher xylanase and cellulase activity hence leads to rapid degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose. Substrate with Trichoderma virens has the highest xylanase activity with is 4.43 _mol/(min · g) compared to control which has 3.48 _mol/(min · g). For cellulase activity, substrate with Aspergillus niger has the highest number of activity with 14.41 FPU/g. The degradation of the substrate indicates the lignocellulolytic capacity of Trichoderma reesei, Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma virens with more than 32% decrease in hemicellulose and more than 52% decrease in cellulose. The N, P, K content of all inoculated composts increased significantly after maturation. The result shows that fungi play a vital role in degrading cellulose and hemicellulose hence shortening the composting period.