Bacterial cellulose membranes for environmental water remediation and industrial wastewater treatment

This work describes preparation of bacterial cellulose membranes and their use as filters for water remediation. The samples were tested as filters using natural specimens that were extracted from the Igarassu River basin in Pernambuco, Brazil, and using suspensions with a high load of Escherichia coli and raw industrial effluents from the dairy and textile industries. The bacterial cellulose membrane performance was compared with commercial membranes that are used in sterile environments with better results. The membranes were shown to be effective for removing E. coli and dye effluent for up to ten cycles. When the samples that were extracted from the river were studied, no microorganisms were detected after the filtrate was inoculated into a culture medium. The results reported here show that the bacterial cellulose membranes are effective for the remediation of samples with different compositions.