Beneficial Effect of Acetic Acid on the Xylose Utilization and Bacterial Cellulose Production by Gluconacetobacter xylinus

In this work, acetic acid was found as one promising substrate to improve xylose utilization by Gluconacetobacter xylinus CH001. Also, with the help of adding acetic acid into medium, the bacterial cellulose (BC) production by G. xylinus was increased significantly. In the medium containing 3 g l^?1 acetic acid, the optimal xylose concentration for BC production was 20 g l^?1. In the medium containing 20 g l^?1 xylose, the xylose utilization and BC production by G. xylinus were stimulated by acetic acid within certain concentration. The highest BC yield (1.35 ± 0.06 g l^?1) was obtained in the medium containing 20 g l^?1 xylose and 3 g l^?1 acetic acid after 14 days. This value was 6.17-fold higher than the yield (0.21 ± 0.01 g l^?1) in the medium only containing 20 g l^?1 xylose. The results analyzed by FE-SEM, FTIR, and XRD showed that acetic acid affected little on the microscopic morphology and physicochemical characteristics of BC. Base on the phenomenon observed, lignocellulosic acid hydrolysates (xylose and acetic acid are main carbon sources present in it) could be considered as one potential substrate for BC production.