Biological Treatment of Rice Straw and Glucose Production Using Bacillus sp.

The study was conducted in 2016. The samples of rice Oryza sativa L. straw were collected from Dewania governorate/Iraq, and were brought to laboratory of Directorate of Environmental and Water in Ministry of Science and Technology. The samples were cleaned and milled, then stored in sterile containers. Local cellulolytic bacterial isolate was cultivated and isolated on mineral and cellulose medium, at 37 ºC for (24± 2) hours, the bacterial isolate was diagnosed as Bacillus sp. depending on phenotypes of bacterial colonies on solid medium, microscopic characters and some biochemical tests. Milled rice straw was chemically treated with 1% of sodium hydroxide, then biological treatment by bacterial isolate Bacillus sp cultivate in mineral medium with alkali treated rice straw as carbone source and compared with cellulose standard medium. The bacterial growth was measured at 600 nm, which reached 0.974 in rice straw medium, while in cellulose medium reached 0.853. For glucose concentration, the value reached 250 μg/ml in rice straw medium, while in cellulose medium it was 210 μg/ml. The results concluded the possibility of getting rid of rice husks, which is an environmental contaminant, and to use it in the production of glucose.