Optimization of Process Variables for Amylase Production Using Agro Residual Wastes by Taguchi Methodology

Abstract

Advances in industrial biotechnology offer potential opportunities for economic utilization of agro-industrial residues such as banana peel and corn pith as a substrate for many biochemical reactions. Due to their rich organic nature, they can serve as an ideal substrate for the production of value added products like alpha amylases. In the present work, an attempt was made to optimize different process variables by Taguchi methodology for the production of amylase using banana peel and corn pith by Bacillus subtilis. The orthogonal array design of the experiment was used to study the effects of carbon and nitrogen source, pH, temperature, inoculum size, and incubation time on amylase production. The predicted values of amylase activity by Taguchi S/N ratio methodology were 1799 U/ml for banana peel and 671 U/ml for corn pith. The measured amylase activities at optimal conditions by experimental runs were 1580 U/ml for banana peel and 530.32 U/ml for corn pith, respectively. After ignoring minor effects the deviation between the predicted and measured were further reduced. The predicted results are in good agreement with the experimental values.