A sustainable strategy for biosynthesis of bacterial cellulose using a microbial symbiotic culture from hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) waste hydrolysate

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a bio-macromolecular material with outstanding properties, making it highly promising for diverse applications. The bioconversion of lignocellulosic biomass into BC is crucial for advancing sustainable economic and societal development. Here, industrial hemp waste (HW) was used for BC production, facilitated by a symbiotic community of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) derived from Kombucha. At the same time, liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment was employed to optimize the valorization of industrial HW, achieving a maximum glucose yield of 39.7 g/L and cellulose conversion of 71.2 % following enzymatic hydrolysis. The resulting hydrolysate was directly used for BC production without detoxification. Compared with the conventional BC producer Komagataeibacter hansenii , SCOBY showed superior tolerance to inhibitors, yielding 6.1 g/L of dried BC. Furthermore, the characterization results revealed that the SCOBY-derived BC exhibited excellent surface porosity, swelling and water holding capacity, indicating its potential for biomedical applications. Taxonomic analysis identified the yeast genus Brettanomyces and the bacterial genus Komagataeibacter as the most abundant taxa in the SCOBY grown in HW hydrolysate. Notably, introducing B. bruxellensis from SCOBY into co-culture with K. hansenii effectively mitigated the inhibitory effects of HW hydrolysate and improved BC production. This study proposes a sustainable strategy for BC production and provides insights into the mechanisms by which the SCOBY consortium tolerates inhibitors during the utilization of lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysate. • Industrial hemp waste was investigated as feedstock for BC production. • SCOBY demonstrated excellent tolerance to the inhibitors present in hydrolysate. • The highest yield of dried cellulose film reached up to 4.4 g/100 g raw hemp waste. • The SCOBY-derived BC shows promising properties for biomedical applications. • Brettanomyces and Komagataeibacter spp. effectively formed biofilms in hydrolysate.