| dc.description.abstract |
Bacterial cellulose (BC) has a basic cellulose structure
that gives high purity, high crystalline ability, high
mechanical strength, and high water holding capacity.
During the last few decades, BC has gained as an
important biomaterial because of these unique physical
and chemical characteristics. BC is synthesized by
Acetobacter xylinum extracellularly in a suitable
substrate media. Researchers have produced BC using a
synthetic media or using coconut water and inoculating
with Acetobacter xylinum in a static fermentation
system. In order to eliminate shortcomings in static
fermentation and to achieve increased cellulose
production, agitated and aerated fermentation systems
were experimented. Rotating Biological Fermentor
(RBF) is an is aerated and agitated system, which gives
continuous oxygen flux to the fermentation medium
thereby increasing the yield of biomass and cellulose
synthesized.
In this study, a mathematical model for the synthesis of
BC in a RBF system was developed. The growth of
cellulose is considered as a biofilm from a mono
culture. Glucose depletion, cellulose production and
microbial growth in the fermentation medium were
explained using the developed models. It was shown
that the simulated and experimental results were in close
agreement. In addition, the model was successful in
predicting yield of cellulose at different rotational
speeds of the RBF unit. |
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