Hydrothermal degradation was used to pretreat terylene with an aim of noticeably improving the yield of fermentable monomers: terephthalic acid (TPA), mono (2- hydroxyethyl) terephthalic acid (MHET), bis-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (BHET), and ethylene glycol (EG). After 0.5 h of reaction time at 180 °C, hydrothermal degradation with ammonia led to almost complete conversion of the terylene to TPA, MHET, BHET and EG, which were then transformed by Taonella mepensis WT-6 to bacterial cellulose (BC). Furthermore, the optimum fermentation conditions with the maximum BC yield were 5.0 g/L yeast extract, 30.0 °C, pH 9.0, 8.0% inoculum, and hydrolysate TOC (5.02 g/L). Additionally, mechanical and thermal analysis revealed that the properties of BC produced from TAH medium were similar to those of BC produced with HS medium. Considering the substantial amount of global terylene waste being produced, this study provides an alternative solution for the biosynthesis of BC.
Keywords: Bacterial cellulose; Hydrothermal degradation; Taonella mepensis; Terylene.
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