Luffa sponge offsets the negative effects of aeration on bacterial cellulose production.

Aims To offset the negative effects of aeration on bacterial cellulose (BC) production by acetic acid bacteria using enmeshed cellulose microfibrils (CM) on luffa sponge matrices (LSM). Methods and Results The CM were enmeshed on LSM (LSM-CM). The optimal amount of LSM-CM was determined for BC production under aerated conditions. Without LSM-CM, no BC was produced in seven out of nine production cycles at the highest aeration rate (9 l mim-1). However, with 0.5% LSM-CM and an aeration rate of 3 l min-1 a satisfactory oxygen-transfer coefficient was achieved, and also a good yield of BC (5.24 g l-1). Moreover, the LSM-CM was able to be recycled through nine consecutive BC production cycles. The highest BC yields (from 5.8+0.4 to 6.6+0.4 g l-1) were associated with high bacterial biomass and this was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy. Conclusions We confirm that LSM-CM works well as a starter. Microenvironments low in DO within the matrices of LSM-CM are important for BC production under aeration conditions. Significance and impact of the Study The LSM-CM provides a microenvironment which offsets the negative effects of aeration on BC production. A sustainable, economic process for mass BC production is described using recycled LSM-CM with aeration. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.