Ligninolytic and cellulolytic enzymes - biocatalysts for green agenda

Human activities have contributed immensely to the large amount of lignocellulose waste globally and are poorly utilized for their economic importance. Lignocellulolytic enzymes provides a sustainable and green solution to the valorisation of these lignocellulosic biomass, yielding products of high economic value while also playing an important part in environmental decontamination and detoxification. Lignocellulose biomass is abundant in nature and gives better choices to environmentally friendly resources for biofuel production, and biotechnology utilization. Although lignocellulose waste degradation poses great challenges to the microbial communities, white rot fungi have been harnessed efficiently in biological degradation and biomass valorisation due to their ability to produce ligninolytic enzymes. This review focused on the different characteristics, features, and properties of lignocellulolytic enzymes and their biotechnological applications in waste management, and wastewater decontamination for a green ecosystem. Additionally, the application of lignocellulolytic enzymes in bioethanol, biofuel, and animal feed productions was reviewed and analyzed. The properties of some fungal and bacterial lignocellulolytic enzymes were critically compared so as to identify the microbes with optimum efficiency. This paper provides a comprehensive and up-to-date review of the different characteristics and properties of lignocellulolytic enzymes and their applications in a green ecosystem. Finally, this review describes the limitations and challenges associated with lignocellulolytic enzymes application and its future prospects for a sustainable green ecosystem.