Optimization of bacterial cellulose fermentation medium composition using soybean-boiled wastewater and xylitol: Taguchi design of experiment approach

Abstract The fermentation process of bacterial cellulose (BC) production is dependent on the nutrient content, particularly carbon and nitrogen source. In this study, BC production was carried out through fermentation by Komagataeibacter xylinus in coconut water medium added with xylitol as a carbon source and soybean-boiled wastewater as an alternative nitrogen source. Taguchi method has been applied to determine the optimal composition of bacterial cellulose fermentation medium using soybean-boiled wastewater and xylitol. Taguchi experimental design with L4(2)3 orthogonal matrix was used in this study. The controlled factors and levels used in this study were xylitol concentration (0.83% and 1.5%), soybean-boiled wastewater (20% and 30%), and ZA food grade (0% and 0.2%). Based on the results, it is concluded that the most optimal combination of fermentation medium composition of producing bacterial cellulose is by using 0.83% xylitol, 30% soybean boiled wastewater, and 0.2% ZA food grade. A confirmation process was carried out with 95% confidence level to verify the optimized results, and the values obtained were within the set limits.