Improvement in bacterial cellulose production using Gluconacetobacter xylinus ATCC 10245 and characterization of the cellulose pellicles produced

Abstract

Aim This paper deals with the improvement in bacterial cellulose (BC) production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus ATCC 10245 cultivated under shaking condition. Materials and methods The study was performed using two different approaches. First, through the addition of some thickening agents to the fermentation medium; second, by applying a two-stage fermentation process in which cells of G. xylinus were grown under two successive static and shaking conditions. During the first fermentation stage, the experimental microorganism was cultivated under static condition to produce thick, leather-like, white BC pellicles on which the bacterial cells were firmly adhered. However, during the second fermentation stage, these pellicles were reused to inoculate fresh, more economic medium, and incubated under shaking condition. Results The results showed that the addition of sodium alginate at a concentration of 0.4 g/l resulted in a BC production of 8.25 g/l compared with only 1.7 g/l obtained using the control medium without thickeners under similar shaking condition. The second method resulted in a substantial increase in the produced BC pellicle up to about 16.9 g/l. Further increase in the weight of the BC gels was obtained by adopting a repeated batch cultivation method during the second fermentation stage. After seven successive repeated batches, which extended for 56 days, the total BC mass reached 81.25 g/l. The properties of some BC pellicles were studied using thermogravimetric analyses and then compared with those of cotton linter. Conclusion The results showed that these two methods are very promising for BC production on a large scale.