Bacterial Cellulose Production by Soybean Whey Based Medium

Bacterial cellulose, produced by Acetobacter, is a novel biomaterial. Soybean whey is the byproduct of the soybean protein. A medium containing soybean whey for producing bacterial cellulose by Acetobacter xylinum C5 was optimized to both reduce the cost of cellulose production and utilize the soybean whey. The results showed that sucrose, ammonium sulfate, peptone, MgSO₄·7H2O and citrate are suitable for the production of cellulose. The best fermentation medium for the strain is sucrose 7%, peptone 0.5%, ammonium sulfate 0.5%, MgSO4·7H₂O 0.2%, and citrate 0.1%. The yield of bacterial cellulose was increased when fermented in the medium reported in this paper.

Keywords: bacterial cellulose, soybean whey, Acetobacter xylinum

Corresponding author: E-mail: cast@kmitl.ac.th