For this study, dried loofa sponge (an organic
fibrous material) was chosen instead of plastic
material. It has been proved already that it could
support cells of A. aceti WK on its surface
(Krusong et al., 2007). The current study aimed
to prove that loofa sponge could be used for
vinegar production in STR, as demonstrated in
Figure 2b. After dipping in vinegar containing 4%
acetic acid for sterilization, the 2.5-cm-thick, dried
loofa sponge was submerged in the fermenting
broth. The preliminary study showed that dried
loofa sponge could be put into the STR to make
60% of the fermenting volume. The characteristics
of the loofa sponge in the fermenting broth during
corn vinegar production are shown in Figure 5.
A previous report (Krusong et al., 2002