Bacterial cellulose production from sugar beet molasses with different culture techniques using gluconacetobacter xylinus nrrl b-759

In this study, bacterial cellulose (BC) production has been investigated by different culture techniques (conventional static and staged column static culture) using the sugar beet molasses with Gluconacetobacter xylinus NRRL B-759. The experiments have been consisted of determination of the fermentation time, the optimization, staged column static culture (SCSC), and determination of characteristic properties of produced BCs. The studies were carried out by conventional static and SCSC have been performed at 20-120 g/L initial sugar concentrations, in 100-500 ml culture volumes, and in 5-15 % inoculum. In order to determine fermentation time and the transition time between stages in SCSC, glucose consumption and BC formation in Hestrin-Schraam (HS) medium have been examined for 20 days and the fermentation time and the transit time between stages have been found as 10 days. The optimization results obtained from RSM in the time determined has been shown that the most important parameter in production of optimum BC is interaction between sugar concentration and culture volume. In this work, conventional static culture and newly developed SCSC techniques were compared. It has been shown that the SCSC experiments eliminate the air transfer problem when the effect of substrate inhibition and pH on BC production are not existing in static culture. As a result of the SCSC experiments, significant increasing of BC production in SCSC at sugar concentrations of 20 and 40 g/L has been not observed according to conventional static culture technique. However, BC production in the SCSC increased by 12.46 %, 17.49 % and 22.02 % at 60, 80 and 100 g/L sugar concentrations, respectively. Finally, it has been observed that the characteristic properties such as water holding capacity, SEM, FTIR, XRD, TGA, and mechanic tensile test of BC produced in this study are similar to the standard BC given in literature.