Evaluation of the properties of dry bacterial cellulose synthesized from coffee kombucha fermentation dried with different drying methods

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2024

Abstract

The fermentation of coffee kombucha (CK) utilizes carbohydrate substrates to produce bacterial cellulose (BC), a naturally occurring material synthesized by some bacteria including Gluconacetobacter spp. BC can be used to develop materials for biomedical and food industry applications including biomaterial and biodegradable packaging materials, medical devices, biosensors, or drug delivery systems. BC contains approximately 97% water, which is not convenient and portable for many applications. Drying increases the stability of BC and may influence the properties of BC. The effect of drying methods on the BC properties can determine the suitability of the material for various applications. The objectives of this study were to use four drying methods to synthesize BCs from the fermentation of CK and evaluate their physicochemical, mechanical, and morphological properties. The drying methods included: oven-drying (OD), freeze-drying, vacuum-oven-drying, and Büchner funnel vacuum-drying (BFVD). FTIR analyses confirmed the structure of cellulose for all methods. OD-BCs had the highest tensile stress at break with 24.67 ± 4.40 (MPa). SEM images showed randomly structured fibers with diameters ranging from 61.58 to 72.18 nm. XRD analysis revealed that OD had the highest degree of crystallinity with 78.67%. All BCs decomposed between 230 and 400 °C. This study demonstrated that using different drying methods could alter the structural properties of BCs potentially providing distinctive applications in various industries.

Publication Source (Journal or Book title)

Drying Technology

First Page

142

Last Page

154

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS