Paper Title
Isolation of Novel Mannanolytic D-lactic Acid Bacteria from Palm Kernel Cake

Abstract
Palm kernel cake (PKC) is a potential mannan rich by-product from palm oil processing.Thoughit is currently being used as a low cost animal feed, ithas potential as a carbon source for bio-products such as industrial enzymes, bio-lactate and biofuels. Mannanase producing bacteria were isolated from PKC and 54 of them had the ability to hydrolyse mannan in the preliminary screening. The best mannanase producing strain with the ability to produce lactic acid and utilise various sugar types was selected (NM009). The isolated strain produced β-mannanase optimally at 37oC, pH 7 within 24-48 hours on locust bean gum. The isolated strain was also capable of utilising a wide range of sugars to produce D- lactic acid, a high value industrial product. Strain NM009 was identified by 16S rRNA analysis and identical to Bacillus tequilensis. This isolated organism is therefore a promising candidate in the production of D- lactic acid from lignocellulosic biomass, which can be further applied in several biorefinery processes. Index Terms - Endo-1,4-β-D-mannanase, lactic acid, Palm kernel cake, biorefinery