Fig. 1
Process scheme of cellulose digestion by T. reesei. T. reesei consumes oxygen and the soluble sugars glucose and cellobiose, producing a mixture of cellulases and CO2. The solid substrate cellulose is hydrolyzed by the produced cellulases to yield soluble sugars, closing the loop. The dashed line symbolizes the boundary for material balances. Oxygen consumption is measured online. This concept can be used to investigate cellulose digestion because the cellulose hydrolysis is the limiting step and no soluble sugars accumulate during the whole reaction