Synergism of cellulase, xylanase, and pectinase on hydrolyzing sugarcane bagasse resulting from different pretreatment technologies

• NaOH pretreatment was the best among studied methods for sugar production.
• Synergism between cellulase and xylanase was obvious but substrate specific.
• Synergism between cellulase and pectinase was not observed for glucose production.
• Synergism between cellulase and xylanase correlated to xylan content.
• Replacement of 20% of the cellulase by xylanase enhanced the glucose yield.

Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) resulting from different pretreatments was hydrolyzed by enzyme cocktails based on replacement of cellulase (Celluclast 1.5 L:Novozym 188 = 1 FPU:4 pNPGU) by xylanase or pectinase at different proportions. Lignin content of NaOH pretreated SCB and hemicellulose content of H2SO4 pretreated SCB were the lowest. NaOH pretreatment showed the best for monosaccharide production among the four pretreatments. Synergism was apparently observed between cellulase and xylanase for monosaccharide production from steam exploded SCB (SESB), NaOH, and H2O2 pretreated SCB. No synergism was observed between cellulase and pectinase for producing glucose. Additionally, no synergism was present when H2SO4 pretreated SCB was used. Replacement of 20% of the cellulase by xylanase enhanced the glucose yield by 6.6%, 8.8%, and 9.5% from SESB, NaOH, and H2O2 pretreated SCB, respectively. Degree of synergism between cellulase and xylanase had positive relationship with xylan content and was affected by hydrolysis time.