Bacterial Cellulose Membranes Incorporated with Lipase for Oil Degradation

The immobilization of enzymes increases their stability and allows their reuse, and bacterial cellulose (BC) is a material that can be used in this technique. This work aims to produce an enzymatic product to degrade oils and fats using BC as a matrix. Komagataeibacter hansenii bacteria produce BC membranes, and lipase is immobilized on the membranes by ex situ method. Then, the surface of the membranes is modified with zein, a hydrophobic corn protein. The membranes are characterized by TGA, FTIR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and oil degradation test. TGA demonstrates higher stability for the membranes with lipase and zein. The FTIR spectrum of pure BC membrane and zein-modified membrane are very similar because of the high zein coating. SEM analysis shows that zein-modified membranes with lipase present smaller amounts of pores. Finally, using soy oil, lipase degrades oil even after immobilization during the degradation test.