Bacterial cellulose production and logistic equation to describe Acetobacter xylinum growth

Cellulose is the most abundant organic biopolymer on the earth mainly occurs in plants, although certain microorganisms are capable of producing this organic polymer (bacterial cellulose, BC). BC because of its unique structural characteristics is considered a new industrial material and its application in medical usage has been addressed. BC production by Acetobacter xylinum was studied in a batch system. According to the literature the monod kinetic model is not applicable in many fermentations. In the present study the logistic equation as a substrate-independent model was used to describe the growth of cellulose producing bacterial cells. Counting chamber method considering Neubauer ruling was used to measure cellulose producing cells. The cell growth reached to maximal point at ten days(2.905×1010 cells/L) while the cellulose production was highest after twelve days(1.622 g/L). The experimental results were described reasonably well with use of logistic model.

Keywords:

Bacterial cellulose , Acetobacter xylinum , Logistic equation , modeling Acetobacter xylinum growth curve , Neubauer ruling