Bacterial cellulose nanofibrils from a by-product of the growing Kombucha business: obtention and use in the development of poly(lactic acid) composites

J. BOVI; M. BUTTO; S. ARROYO; C. BERNAL; M.L. FORESTI

LATIN AMERICAN APPLIED RESEARCH

Universidad Nacional del Sur

Lugar: Bahía Blanca; Año: 2024 vol. 54 p. 55 - 62

0327-0793

Bacterial cellulose nanofibrils were obtainedfrom the floating pellicle developed at the airliquidinterface during Kombucha tea production.Kombucha-derived bacterial nanocellulose (KBNC)was purified by different treatments and characterizedin terms of morphology, chemical structure, thermaldecomposition pattern and crystallinity.Purified KBNC was then employed in the productionof poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based composites obtainedby melt compounding and compression molding.The morphology and the mechanical propertiesof the composites with increasing contents of KBNC(i.e. 1, 3, 5, 7 wt.%) were analyzed. Results showedthat KBNC was suitable for the development of PLAcomposites with improved stiffness.