Introduction

All living organisms in this world are dependent on the environment for survival, the environment is important because it plays a role in the existence of life on this planet. Environmental science studies the processes that happen in the environment and ways to conserve our environment in the face of anthropogenic activities and human population that is destroying the Earth’s ecosystems.

Indonesia is the largest palm oil producer in the world. In these factories, with large amounts of Palm Oil production, Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (OPEFBs) is a waste that is produced in abundance and therefore is often incinerated at the plant site, resulting in air pollution. With methods of delignification of OPEFB through microorganisms like fungi, better methods of degradation and use for this abundant waste may be found.

This project is about

This project aims are to measure the lignocellulolytic activity, the activity of enzymes with the ability of breaking down lignocellulose in plants, of different fungi species for potential waste treatment. This project specifically focuses on the delignification of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunches (OPEFBs), an abundant waste of the Palm Oil industry in Indonesia. Fungi is the main subject of this experiment due to the presence of lignocellulolytic enzymes in many fungi species, which can break down lignin and cellulose of the plant waste. Utilization of fungi is also a much cheaper and more accessible method of waste treatment in comparison to its chemical or other biological alternatives.

Future Outlook

With further research & development of delignification of organic waste using fungi, more efficient, accessible, and cheaper methods of waste treatment may be developed. Fungi isolates with optimum levels of lignocellulolytic activity for OPEFB delignification may be utilized to break down this waste into more useful forms for various applications like biofuels, organic fertilizers, raw material for product development, and other product applications.