Investigation of the suitability of cassava flour and algal starch for bacterial cellulose production

Bacterial celluloses have a wide range of applications in many areas such as environmental, medical, food and electronics. In the present study, the suitability of two carbon sources were tested for BC production. Cassava flour, as a starch-rich material, was tested to be used as a carbon source after the hydrolysis of its starch content to glucose. Since starch is among the valuable components of microalgal biomass, glucose obtained by the hydrolysis of starch from Chlorella vulgaris was also tested to be used in BC production. While algae has a lower starch content than cassava flour, several stress conditions were attempted to increase the starch content of C. vulgaris. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first report on the use of hydrolysates of cassava flour and algal starch as carbon sources in the production of BC by Komagataeibacter hansenii. BC yields on dry weight basis were 1.202±0.005 g.L-1, 1.138±0.004 g.L-1, and 1.104±0.002 g.L-1 from glucose (as control), cassava flour, and algal starch, respectively. The results of the characterization studies have revealed that the morphological and chemical characteristics of the BCs produced from cassava flour and algal starch were similar to the BC produced from glucose.