Abstract
The bacterial celluloses are very different in its physical, chemical and morphological structures compared to wood cellulose. These fibers have many unique properties that are potentially and commercially beneficial. This study was aimed to elucidate the production of bacterial celluloses and to improve their physical properties by chemical pretreatment. Bacterial celluloses produced by static culture had gel-like pellicle structure. The pellicle thickness was increased with the increasing time, and its layer was about 1.8cm after one-month incubation. The pellicles extruded from the cells of Acetobacter had a non-crystalline structure during initial growing stages, gradually getting crystaliyzed with the incubation time elapse, and eventually fumed to the cellulose I crystals. Young＇s modulus of bacterial cellulose sheet was increased with increasing NaOH concentration, and resulted in the highest at 5% NaOH concentration. Similar results with NaClO3 pretreatment can be observed. Too concentrated alkali solutions induced the destruction of cellulose fibrils and changed the mechanical properties of the sheets. These alkaline pretreatment have removed non-cellulosic components(NCC) from the bacterial cellulose, and enhanced inter-abrillar bonding by direct close contact among cellulosic fibrils.
