Development of a layered bacterial nanocellulose-PHBV composite for food packaging.

BACKGROUND: Most of the current materials used in food packaging are synthetic and non-degradable, raising environmental issues derived from the accumulation of plastics in landfills/waterways. The food industry increasingly needs eco-friendly sustainable materials that meet food-packaging requirements. Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC), a biopolymer obtained by fermentation, offers very good mechanical properties and the ability to carry and deliver active substances. However, its water-vapor permeability is too high for food-packaging applications. In this work, a layered biodegradable composite based on BNC and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHBV) was produced, attempting to improve its overall barrier properties. Polyhydroxyalkanoate is a biopolymer with high degree of hydrophobicity and biodegradability, and is also obtained by fermentation. Wet BNC membranes produced by static culture were plasticized by impregnation of solutions of either glycerol (BNCgly ) or polyethylene glycol (MW 600) (BNCPEG ). The plasticized BNC was then coated with PHBV solution dissolved in formic acid, and oven dried at 148 °C. RESULTS: Overall, PHBV coating on plasticized BNC reduced water vapor permeability significantly (from 0.990 to 0.032 g.µm.m-2 .day-1 .Pa-1 ) under 50% relative humidity. It increased the hydrophobicity (contact angle from 10-40° to 80-90°) but decreased the stiffness (from 3.1 GPa to 1.3 Gpa) of the composite. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the mechanical and barrier properties of the layered composite obtained were considered suitable for food-packaging applications. The plasticizing (with glycerol or polyethylene glycol) of BNC significantly improved the mechanical performance and the PHBV coating reduced the water affinity (vapor and liquid state) on BNC. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Optimization of bacterial nanocellulose fermentation using recycled paper sludge and development of novel composites.

In this work, recycled paper sludge (RPS), composed of non-recyclable fibres, was used as a carbon source for bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) production. The biomass was enzymatically hydrolysed with Cellic CTec 2 to produce a sugar syrup with 45.40 g/L glucose, 1.69 g/L cellobiose and 2.89 g/L xylose. This hydrolysate was used for the optimization of BNC fermentation by static culture, using Komagataeibacter xylinus ATCC 700178, through response surface methodology (RSM). After analysis and validation of the model, a maximum BNC yield (5.69 g/L, dry basis) was obtained using 1.50% m/v RPS hydrolysate, 1.0% v/v ethanol and 1.45% m/v yeast extract/peptone (YE/P). Further, the BNC obtained was used to produce composites. A mixture of an amino-PolyDiMethylSiloxane-based softener, polyethyleneglycol (PEG) 400 and acrylated epoxidized soybean oil (AESO), was incorporated into the BNC membranes through an exhaustion process. The results show that BNC composites with distinct performances can be easily designed by simply varying the polymers percentage contents. This strategy represents a simple approach towards the production of BNC and BNC-based composites.

Colour profile analysis of Port wines by various instrumental and visual methods.

BACKGROUND: Wine colour is an important quality parameter, being the first sensorial attribute evaluated during wine tasting. The perception of wine colour can be different depending on many factors, including the depth of the sample under observation. The main objectives of the present study were to measure the colour of Port wines using CIE L*, a*, b* parameters at different depths with various instrumental techniques (spectrophotometry and colorimetry), and to compare the obtained results with the sensory (visual) perception of colour samples. RESULTS: Representative profiles of lightness (L*), hue (H*) and chroma (C*) at different depths were obtained using Port wine samples from various categories and ages. In general, relatively good correlations between the colorimetric and spectrophotometric methods were obtained for the L* and H* parameters. The results of the sensory tests also showed good correlations between the visually assessed hue scores and the colorimetric measurements of the H* parameter, particularly at the lower depths tested (up to 4.0 mm). CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the results indicate that the colorimetric method can be used for estimating wine colour parameters, providing useful information about the colour profile of wines at different depths. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Response surface statistical optimization of bacterial nanocellulose fermentation in static culture using a low-cost medium.

This work aimed at the optimization of bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) production by static culture, using Komagataeibacter xylinus BPR 2001 (K. xylinus). Response surface methodology - central composite design was used to evaluate the effect of inexpensive and widely available nutrient sources, namely molasses, ethanol, corn steep liquor (CSL) and ammonium sulphate, on BNC production yield. The optimized parameters for maximum BNC production were % (m/v): molasses 5.38, CSL 1.91, ammonium sulphate 0.63, disodium phosphate 0.270, citric acid 0.115 and ethanol 1.38% (v/v). The experimental and predicted maximum BNC production yields were 7.5 ± 0.54 g/L and 6.64 ± 0.079 g/L, respectively and the experimental and predicted maximum BNC productivity were 0.829 ± 0.046 g/L/day and 0.734 ± 0.079 g/L/day, after 9 days of static culture fermentation, at 30 °C. The effect of surface area and culture medium depth on production yield and productivity were also studied. BNC dry mass production increased linearly with surface area, medium depth and fermentation time. So long as nutrients were still available in the culture media, BNC mass productivity was constant. The results show that a high BNC production yield can be obtained by static culture of K. xylinus BPR 2001 using a low-cost medium. These are promising conditions for the static industrial scale BNC production, since as compared to agitated bioreactors, higher productivities may be reached, while avoiding high capital and operating costs.

Comparison of homo- and heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria for implementation of fermented wheat bran in bread.

Despite its potential health benefits, the integration of wheat bran into the food sector is difficult due to several adverse technological and sensory properties such as bitterness and grittiness. Sourdough fermentation is a promising strategy to improve the sensory quality of bran without inducing severe changes to the bran matrix. Therefore, identification of species/strains with potential for industrial sourdough fermentations is important. We compared the effects of different representatives of species of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) on wheat bran. Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus pentosus, Lactobacillus brevis, Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis and Fructobacillus fructosus produced highly individual fermentation patterns as judged from carbohydrate consumption and organic acid production. Interestingly, fructose was released during all bran fermentations and possibly influenced the fermentation profiles of obligately heterofermentative species to varying degrees. Except for the reduction of ferulic acid by L. plantarum and L. pentosus, analyses of phenolic compounds and alkylresorcinols suggested that only minor changes thereof were induced by the LAB metabolism. Sensory analysis of breads baked with fermented bran did not reveal significant differences regarding perceived bitterness and aftertaste. We conclude that in addition to more traditionally used sourdough species such as L. sanfranciscensis and L. brevis, also facultatively heterofermentative species such as L. plantarum and L. pentosus possess potential for industrial wheat bran fermentations and should be considered in further investigations.