Abstract
Suspended solids in the nutrient medium for Acetobacter xylinium in a rotating disk bioreactor become incorporated into the gelatinous mat of bacterial cellulose as it forms. Embedding fibers of ordinary cellulose creates composites with enhanced strength and the toughness of bacterial cellulose. Purified cellulose and elongated fibers from paper are incorporated differently than are spherical particles such as silica gel. About 90% of the final cellulose can come from scrap paper, and dried composite sheets were much stronger than plain bacterial cellulose per unit area.
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Acknowledgements
Early stages of this research were supported by Grant BES-9501809 from the National Science Foundation and Grant 99-35504-8011 from the United States Department of Agriculture.
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Mormino, R., Bungay, H. Composites of bacterial cellulose and paper made with a rotating disk bioreactor. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 62, 503–506 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-003-1377-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-003-1377-5