ITB J. Eng. Sci., Vol. 44, No. 2, 2012, 93-105 93 Received June 22 nd , 2011, Revised August 25 th , 2011, 2 nd Revision October 4 th , 2011, Accepted for publication February 2 nd , 2012. Copyright © 2012 Published by LPPM ITB & PII, ISSN: 1978-3051, DOI: 10.5614/itbj.eng.sci.2012.44.2.1 Optimization of Laccase Production using White Rot Fungi and Agricultural Wastes in Solid-State Fermentation Hendro Risdianto 1 , Elis Sofianti 2 , Sri Harjati Suhardi 3 & Tjandra Setiadi 2 1 Center for Pulp and Paper, Ministry of Industry Jl. Raya Dayeuhkolot 132, Bandung, Jawa Barat 40258, Indonesia 2 Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Labtek X, Jl. Ganesa 10 Bandung, Jawa Barat 40132, Indonesia 3 School of Life Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung Labtek XI, Jl. Ganesha 10, Bandung, Jawa Barat 40132, Indonesia Email: hendrorisdianto@yahoo.com Abstract. Laccase has been produced in a solid-state fermentation (SSF) process using white rot fungi and various lignocellulose-based substrates. The white rot fungi used were Marasmius sp., Trametes hirsuta, Trametes versicolor and Phanerochaete crysosporium. The solid substrates employed in this research were collected from agricultural waste, specifically empty fruit bunches (EFB), rice straw, corncobs and rice husks. The objective of this research was to determine the most promising fungus, the best solid substrate and the optimal conditions for the production of laccase. The results showed that Marasmius sp. on all solid substrates displayed a higher laccase activity than that of any other strain of white rot fungi. Marasmius sp. and a solid substrate of rice straw demonstrated the highest laccase activity of 1116.11 U/L on day 10. Three significant factors, i.e. pH, temperature and yeast extract concentration, were studied by the response surface method on laccase production using Marasmius sp. and rice straw. The optimized conditions were a pH, temperature and yeast extract concentration of 4.9, 31ºC and 0.36 g/L, respectively. The fermentation of Marasmius sp. in SSF on agricultural waste shows a great potential for the production of laccase. Keywords: agriculture waste; laccase; Marasmius sp.; optimization; solid-state fermentation. 1 Introduction Various agricultural industries in Indonesia are generating an enormous amount of waste in the form of biomass, such as empty fruit bunches (EFB), rice straw, rice husks and corncobs. In 2010, Indonesia produced crude palm oil (CPO), rice and corn at 21.5 million tons, 66 million tons, and 17.8 million tons, respectively [1]. From that production, solid wastes in the form of empty fruit bunches, rice straw, rice husks and corncobs were at 22.5 million tons, 99