Cassava starch is considered as a potential source for the commercial production of bioethanol because of its availability and low market price. It can be used as a basic source to support large-scale biological production of bioethanol using microbial amylases. With the progression and advancement in enzymology, starch liquefying and saccharifying enzymes are preferred for the conversion of complex starch polymer into various valuable metabolites. These hydrolytic enzymes can selectively cleave the internal linkages of starch molecule to produce free glucose which can be utilized to produce bioethanol by microbial fermentation.

Soil contamination with heavy metal content is a growing concern throughout the world as a result of industrial, mining, agricultural and domestic activities. Fungi are the most common and efficient group of heavy metal resistant microbe family which have potential for metal bioleaching. The use of filamentous fungi in bioleaching of heavy metals from contaminated soil has been developed recently. The current study intends to isolate a strain with the ability to degrade the pH value of the liquid medium. Identification results based on morphological and molecular biological analysis gave a 98% match to Aspergillus flavus . Batch experiments were conducted to select the optimal conditions for bioleaching process which indicated that 130 mg/ L sucrose, neutral pH and temperature of 30°C were more suitable during 15-day bioleaching experiments using A. flavus . In one-step bioleaching, the bioleaching efficiencies were 18.16% for Pb, 39.77% for Cd and 58.22% for Zn ⁺² , while two-step bioleaching showed efficiencies of 16.91% for Pb, 49.66% for Cd and 65.73% for Zn ⁺² . Overall, this study indicates that bioleaching of heavy metals in contaminated soil using A. flavus has the potential for contaminated soil remediation.

To increase its operational stability and ongoing reusability, B. subtilis pectinase was immobilized on iron oxide nanocarrier. Through co-precipitation, magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive electron microscopy (EDEX) were used to analyze the nanoparticles. Pectinase was immobilized using glutaraldehyde as a crosslinking agent on iron oxide nanocarrier. In comparison to free pectinase, immobilized pectinase demonstrated higher enzymatic activity at a variety of temperatures and pH levels. Immobilization also boosted pectinase’s catalytic stability. After 120 h of pre-incubation at 50 °C, immobilized pectinase maintained more than 90% of its initial activity due to the iron oxide nanocarrier, which improved the thermal stability of pectinase at various temperatures. Following 15 repetitions of enzymatic reactions, immobilized pectinase still exhibited 90% of its initial activity. According to the results, pectinase’s catalytic capabilities were enhanced by its immobilization on iron oxide nanocarrier, making it economically suitable for industrial use.