CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Cellulose, a glucose-based polysaccharide that makes up a large fraction of plant cell walls, is used

as a raw material for pulp and paper (from trees) and clothing (as cotton). It has a very rigid structure because

a cellulose bundle has approximately 36 hydrogen-bonded chains, each with 500 to 14,000 β-l, 4-linked

glucose molecules (Somerville, 2006).

Plant-derived cellulose usually contains contaminants in the form of lignin, pectin and hemicellulose

(Brown, 1886; Embuscado et al., 1994; Delmer et al.,1999; Jung et al., 2005). These contaminants can be

removed by various mechanical and chemical processes but this processing weakens the structure and/or

decreases potential yields. Purer cellulose is produced by several bacteria. The most frequently used species

is Acetobacter xylinum, which has been reclassified and included within the genus Gluconacetobacter as G.

xylinus (Yamada et al., 1997; Yamada, 2000).

Bacterial cellulose (BC), which is often produced as discrete particles, has high crystallinity, high

mechanical strength and higher purity than plant-based cellulose. It does not contain lignin, hemicellulose or

other contaminants present in plant-based cellulose (Bielecki et al., 2005; Castro et al., 2011). These

excellent properties can be used in making artificial skin (Fontana et al., 1990), electronic paper and

composite reinforcement (Jonas and Farah, 1998). Because the BC pellicles form on the surface (Watanabe

et al., 1998), much of the research on producing BC has been done in static culture. However, economics of

any fermentation systems are improved by increasing the scale or using aerated and agitated systems

(Goelzer et al., 2009).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The main disadvantage of BC is that it is a relatively expensive and therefore unlikely to be a substitute for

traditional sources of cellulose. The cost of media contributes significantly to fermentation costs, especially if

standard commercial media is used. Much research on producing BC utilizing low-cost components has been

done to identify how to reduce BC production cost (Keshk et al., 2006). Also, to meet the requirement for

industrial applications, large-scale BC production needs to be developed, which involves improving

fermentation conditions and identifying BC-producing strains (Vandamme et al., 1998; Wu et al., 2008). To

obtain high productivity, it is important to optimize reactor conditions such as operating temperature and pH,

dissolved oxygen (DO) and substrate concentration. Productivity is important because it ensures efficient

utilization of production capacity (i.e. the bioreactor, ancillary equipment and services, and process time). If

end-product concentration is low, it will be expensive to obtain product of sufficient purity (Nielsen, 2002).

The way a fermentation process is run depends on whether the desired end-product is the cells, a

primary metabolite (either extra or intracellular) or a secondary metabolite. The latter often involves optimizing

cell growth and then identifying environmental conditions that favour secondary metabolite production yet

limit further cell growth.

1.3 Significance of the Study

There are many possible uses for BC, based on its special properties. Most of the BC has been

produced using media made from commercially available components, which are expensive, and

consequently require many additional resources for cultivation.

The main aim of this study is to investigate growth of a suitable microbe that produces BC and then

investigating alternative, cheaper carbon and nitrogen sources for the media specifically banana peel so a

simple, inexpensive fermentation process for producing BC in aerated and agitated culture can be developed.

Another aim of this study is to produce wound dressings from bacterial cellulose (BC).
1.4 Scope and Delimitation

The scope of this study will only focus on:

 Bacterial Cellulose cultivation using alternative, cheaper carbon and nitrogen sources media which

is banana peel,

 Wound Dressing production using Bacterial Cellulose.