Production of Paper Using Bacterial Cellulose and Residue from the Sugar and Alcohol Industry

Abstract

The production of a fibrous surface formed from a composite of sugarcane bagasse and bacterial cellulose was the objective of this research. For this process the bagasse was grinded and cleaned, followed by the addition of a chemical substance capable of separating the cellulose fiber from the natural binders. The vegetable (VC) fiber originated from sugarcane bagasse (SCR) was mixed with bacterial cellulose (BC) fiber, which was produced in an alternative culture medium that used maize maceration liquor as a carbon and nitrogen source. The celluloses were ground, mixed and sieved to dryness. The resulting dry composite of the mixture was characterized by FTIR, DRX and TGA. The biomaterial obtained from the combination of BC and VC showed the same quality as a dense and rigid paper, with the advantage of not requiring the addition of chemicals and avoiding the consumption of a large volume of water. Infrared confirms the same chemical groups for BC and VC. Crystallinity and degradation did not show a large change for crystallinity index and degradation temperature when SCR was incorporated into BC. The pulp production process does not harm the environment at any time, since there is no emission of pollutants. An environmentally friendly product was obtained from sugarcane bagasse, a byproduct of ethanol and sugar manufacturing in BC mills and nanofibrils, producing high quality fibers, high purity and biodegradability, which makes the paper 100% recyclable. Keywords: Bacterial Cellulose, Gluconacetobacter hansenii, Sugarcane Bagasse,