Cleaner Production option for the Sri Lankan desiccated coconut Industry - bacterial cellulose from wastewater

Abstract

The Desiccated Coconut (DC) industry is an important source of export earnings in Sri Lanka. However lack of energy and environmental conservation techniques have made the industry less competitive. In this study, the coconut water that is considered as a waste product in the DC industry is used as a substrate for the production of Bacterial Cellulose (BC). BC has many industrial applications. Investigations were performed to identify process parameters that would affect the yield of BC.