Distillery effluent as a potential medium for bacterial cellulose production: A biopolymer of great commercial importance

[Display omitted] •Production of bacterial cellulose at zero raw material cost utilizing distillery effluent.•Maximum bacterial cellulose was obtained in the crude distillery effluent with 0.85g of bacterial cellulose production in 100ml of the effluent.•The present study proved a concept that distillery effluent could be utilized for the production of bacterial cellulose. In the present study, an attempt was made to utilize the distillery effluent for the production of bacterial cellulose by a novel bacterial species, Gluconacetobacter oboediens. Maximum bacterial cellulose production of 0.85g/100ml was achieved in crude distillery effluent. The production was successfully scaled up to 1.0L size producing 8.1g of bacterial cellulose. Morphological, structural and thermal characterization of purified bacterial cellulose by SEM, FT-IR and TGA analysis showed that it is pure cellulose having good properties. Henceforth, the present study proved a concept that distillery effluent could be utilized for the production of bacterial cellulose, a biopolymer of immense importance, which in turn may be used for producing different value added products.