Produção de Goma xantana empregando caldo de cana por xanthomonas campestris pv campestris NRRL B-1459

Abstract

The development of the work plan proposed for this dissertation refers to the production of xanthan gum from sugarcane juice using the bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris NRRL B-1459. Tests were conducted in 500 mL erlenmeyers flasks and in a 2.0-L reactor, in sucrose concentration range from 15 to 40 g/L, judiciously following the pre-established experimental designs, when the process variables and its levels were defined. Firstly, two varieties of sugarcane, RB 835486 and SP 791011 were tested in different production media, aiming at selecting the variety and the fermentative media whose K values (rate of consistence) and n (behavior rate) for the fermented must represented in a better way the condition of pseudoplastic fluid. In the sequence, two factorial designs in two levels and three variables defined the appropriate composition of the medium for later investigations related to the gum biosynthesis. However, the third design appears with two variables and three levels, rendering favorable an evaluation of the optimum point through surfaces generated for each response analyzed. Above all, an increase in the scale researched until then guided the execution of tests in reactor for checking, under controlled conditions, the growth of microorganisms, decrease of sucrose concentration and the product formation, the viscosity of fermented must, and the 1% solution of gum after recovery and purification. Tests in erlenmeyer flasks were carried out in stirring table at 120 rpm and 28ºC while in the reactor, the agitation, aeration, and pH maintained their values in 800 rpm, 0.5 vvm and 7.3, respectively. In that way, results found in this study indicate that the variety of sugarcane SP 791011 has remarkable potential for the production of xanthan gum and after execution of two designs was defined too the medium of production constituted by dilute sugarcane, fortified with four components for effecting the 3rd and 4th designs. Then, the feasibility of the production process of xanthan gum was attested in reactor, reaching 15.1 g/L of gum concentration, 0.629 g/Lh of productivity, 0.579 g.g-1 of conversion from substrate to product, 21509.9 cP of viscosity at 0.75 s-1 for 1% solution of xanthan gum. Gums produced were compared to a commercial sample and presented a similar spectroscopy near infrared region.