Taskin, MesutOrtucu, SerkanUnver, YagmurTasar, Ozden CanliOzdemir, MustafaKaymak, Haluk Caglar2026-03-262026-03-2620160957-58201744-359810.1016/j.psep.2016.07.0062-s2.0-84978886682https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2016.07.006https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14901/2179Örtücü, Serkan/0000-0002-3180-0444; Taskin, Mesut/0000-0002-9350-9628; Canli Tasar, Ozden/0000-0002-4313-5373; Unver, Yagmur/0000-0003-1497-081XThis study was undertaken to remove the coloring compounds of molasses as well as produce extracellular (exo) invertase in sterile and non-sterile molasses medium by using cold-adapted filamentous fungus Cladosporium herbarum ER-25. It was determined that a combination of low culture pH (5.5), temperature (20 degrees C) and high molasses concentration (6%) could completely prevent undesired bacterial contamination during the cultivation of C. herbarum ER-25. Under the optimized non-sterile culture conditions, the maximum invertase activity (36.1 U/mL) was attained after 72 h. On the other hand, the fungus could remove toxical dark brown pigments (melanoidins) in non-sterilized molasses medium through biodegradation and bioadsorption mechanisms. A color removal rate of 64.8% in non-sterile medium could be achieved at the end of 144-h cultivation period. It was found that lac case and manganese peroxidase were responsible for biodegradation. No ligninase activity was detected for the fungus during the cultivation. Maximum laccase (4.6 U/mL) and manganese peroxidase (3.5 U/mL) activities could be reached after 120 h. Higher invertase activity and color removal rate were achieved in non-sterilized medium compared to sterilized one. This is the first report on invertase production from cold-adapted microorganisms under non-sterile culture conditions. As an additional contribution, use of cold-adapted fungi for molasses decolourization was investigated for the first time in the present study. (C) 2016 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessCladosporium Herbarum Er-25Cold-AdaptedInvertaseNon-Sterile MolassesDecolourizationOptimisationArticle