ABSTRACT
In the 21st century, fossil fuel has become among the basic needs for human beings’ survival. It has been used for many purposes including generating electricity, transportation, heating, running businesses, and making many household products. This growing demand for first-generation fossil fuels has changed the climate, elevated the level of greenhouse gases and also contributed to global warming. Therefore, it has become challenging to search for an alternative natural or renewable source that would fulfil all human needs. The mass from organic matter of plants, animals, microorganisms or lignocellulose waste is known as biomass. They have proven to be the most effective method for the production of new-generation bio-based chemicals such as biofuels (primarily bioethanol), many enzymes and food additives that are cost-effective, renewable and abundantly available.
Plant biomass consists of complex structures of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin which are sugar-rich polymers. The depolymerization and hydrolysis of this biomass require many intensive and expensive enzymatic and chemical processes that increase the cost of the method. To overcome this problem, cellulosomes produced by either bacteria or fungi were used. Cellulosomes are the complex multiprotein enzymes produced by microorganisms that can degrade or hydrolysis the biomass. In this chapter, we will study bacterial cellulosomes and their advances and application for biomass hydrolysis.
