Position: PhD since August 2018
Department: Nanoscience and Nanoengineering.
Sindhu Suresh Singh
Research title: Production of Nanocellulose from Corn Stover by enzymatic hydrolysis.
Nano cellulose obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis is of high purity, devoid of chemicals. The components in lignocellulosic mass are strongly intermeshed and bonded through covalent or non-covalent bonds which causes recalcitrance of biomass and makes it difficult to extract. For this new method need to be developed using enzymes like xylanases, laccase which degrade hemicellulose and lignin without affecting cellulose. Hence attempts are made to develop enzyme cocktail using recombinant enzymes to degrade corn stover without pretreatment and to obtain pure cellulose which can be further processed to Nanocellulose and can be used for production of polymer composites.