Microbial Cellulose
"Microbial cellulose is a form of cellulose that is produced by bacteria. It is widely used in the traditional Filipino dessert Nata de coco. Microbial cellulose was first confirmed as cellulose in 1886."
"Bacteria from the genera Aerobacter, Acetobacter, Achromobacter, Agrobacterium, Alacaligenes, Azotobacter, Pseudomonas, Rhizobium and Sarcina synthesize cellulose. However, only the Acetobacter species produce enough cellulose to justify commercial interest. The most extensively studied member of the Acetobacter species is A. xylinus, formerly known as A. xylinum."
"A.xylinusextrudes glucan chains from pores into the growth medium. These aggregate into microfibrils, which bundle to form microbial cellulose ribbons. Various kinds of sugars are used as substrate. Production occurs mostly at the interface of liquid and air."
Recent US Patents
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Recent Journal Articles
Heterotrophic Biological Denitrification Using Microbial Cellulose as Carbon Source
(283-287) Journal of Polymers and the Environment 19 #1 (2011)
Godini et al of Lorestan University of Medical Sciences and Tarbiat Modares University, Iran, found that adenitrification rate of about 0.74 kg NO3 −N/m3d at 6 h retention time was achieved with microbial cellulose. Microbial cellulose is a suitable carbon source for nitrate removal in a heterotrophic biological denitrification process. (RDC 4.22.2011)