Bacterial nanocellulose in papermaking

Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is a unique natural nanomaterial that shares very few similarities with other natural or industrially produced nanomaterials. BNC can be produced by a variety of bacteria, as a survival aid in different ecological niches. BNC is traditionally produced by static or shaking culture methods, and the ‘mother vinegar’, or biofilm, is a typical example of this product after static vinegar fermentation. BNC has great potential in biomedicine, and recent studies have also demonstrated its use in the papermaking industry. It has nanoscale fiber size and large numbers of free hydroxyl groups, which ensure high inter-fiber hydrogen bonding. Thus, BNC has great potential as a reinforcing material, and is especially applicable for recycled paper and for paper made of nonwoody cellulose fiber. As well as enhancing the strength and durability of paper, modified BNC shows great potential for production of fire resistant and specialized papers. However, the biotechnological aspects of BNC need to be improved to minimize the cost of its production, and to thus make this process economically feasible.