Improved bacterial nanocellulose production from glucose without the loss of quality by evaluating thirteen agitator configurations at low speed

Abstract

Summary Thirteen agitator configurations were investigated at low speed in stirred‐tank reactors (STRs) to determine if improved crude bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) productivity can be achieved from glucose‐based media while maintaining high BNC quality using Komagataeibacter xylinus ATCC 23770 as a model organism. A comparison of five single impellers showed the pitched blade (large) was the optimal impeller at 300 rpm. The BNC production was further increased by maintaining the pH at 5.0. Among the single helical ribbon and frame impellers and the combined impellers, the twin pitched blade provided the best results. The combined impellers at 150 rpm performed better than the single impellers, and after optimizing the agitation conditions, the twin pitched blade (large) and helical ribbon impellers performed the best at 100 rpm. The performances of different agitators at low speed during BNC production were related to how efficiently the agitators improved the oxygen mass transfer coefficient. The twin pitched blade (large) was verified as providing the optimum performance by an observed crude BNC production of 1.97 g (L×d)−1 and a BNC crude yield of consumed glucose of 0.41 g g−1, which were 2.25 and 2.37 times higher than the initial values observed using the single impeller respectively. Further characterization indicated that the BNC obtained at 100 rpm from the STR equipped with the optimal agitator maintained high degree of polymerization and crystallinity.

Bacterial cellulose: A comprehensive review

“…In industrial processes, stirred-tank reactors remain a competitive means of producing BC in high yields. 35,153,158,[162][163][164] Aerosol reactors are inspired by spray reactors, as they use pulverized growth medium to make BC. Here, the main advantage is provided when small droplets of medium interact with the surrounding air, increasing the effective liquid-air surface area.…”

“…Agitated cultures also tend to disturb the formation of contiguous BC membranes, which lets BC pellets float freely inside the medium. In industrial processes, stirred‐tank reactors remain a competitive means of producing BC in high yields 35,153,158,162‐164 …”

Transcriptomic Insights into Metabolism-Dependent Biosynthesis of Bacterial Nanocellulose

“…16s rRNA phylogeny was created by generating a multiple sequence alignment with MUSCLE and a Neighbor-Joining tree using MEGA-X package at default settings. 32 Bcs operon amino acid sequences were aligned and percent identity calculated using MUSCLE and the tree built using the Neighbor-Joining method.…”

Bacterial nanocellulose: engineering, production, and applications

“…Electroporation, which involves the development of some uneven pores in the surface of cells under the electric field, is the most often employed approach for altering Komagataeibacter . Pores allow macromolecules from the intercellular space to enter the cells [ 30 , 31 ].…”