Bioconversion of pear pomace by strains of Pleurotus ostreatus during mycelial development

Abstract

The cultivation of edible fungi is an ecological bioconversion system since it allows us to take advantage of lignocellulosic waste. In this way, the pear processing industries generate waste that is called pomace. Nevertheless, these kinds of residues could be considered the basement of substrate for these mushrooms' growth. Hence, the focus of this study was to analyse the modify of the content of different chemical components in pear pomace. While the mycelial growth of Pl-P and Pl-J take place. These are two kinds of strains of P.ostreatus. Thus, the inoculated substrate was incubated in Petri dishes at 28°C in the dark for 8 weeks. A decrease in dry matter was observed, obtaining a 30% average bioconversion for the analysed strains. The chemical characterisation of the biodegraded pomace showed a significant decrease in all tested variables. The net content of non-structural carbohydrates had the greatest decrease (approximately 60%) in the analysed period. The content of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, hemicellulose, and lignin was reduced to a lesser extent. The development of emerging end-of-pipe technologies and applications aimed at reducing the negative impact on the environment due to the accumulation of waste generated by industrial activities should be considered.