ABSTRACT
Xanthan gum is a polysaccharide that is widely used as stabilizer and thickener in many industrial applications. The sugarcane bagasse is an abundant residue obtained during the sugar processing and its disposal in the environment causes several drawbacks. The bioconversion of this by-product in valuable products is an important alternative to overcome this environmental problem. In this work, the feasibility of using sugarcane bagasse as carbon source for xanthan gum production was investigated using Xanthomonas campestris. In addition, sucrose as carbon source was investigated as a control. A production of 6.76 ± 0.09 gL- 1 and 9.79 ± 0.11 gL- 1 was obtained when sucrose and sugarcane bagasse was used respectively. The solutions of xanthan formed was subjected to rheological analyses. The findings indicated that these polysaccharide solutions has pseudoplastic properties. Based on a preliminary analysis, the use of sugarcane bagasse for xanthan gum production has the potential to be a cost-effective supplemental carbon source to produce non-food grade xanthan gum.
