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Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) by Bacillus megaterium using food waste acidogenic fermentation-derived volatile fatty acids
University of Borås, Faculty of Textiles, Engineering and Business.
University of Borås, Faculty of Textiles, Engineering and Business.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-4887-2433
University of Borås, Faculty of Textiles, Engineering and Business.ORCID iD: 0000-0002-7377-0765
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2021 (English)In: Bioengineered, ISSN 2165-5979, E-ISSN 2165-5987, Vol. 12, no 1, p. 2480-2498Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Sustainable development
According to the author(s), the content of this publication falls within the area of sustainable development.
Abstract [en]

High production costs still hamper fast expansion of commercial production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). This problem is greatly related to the cultivation medium which accounts for up to 50% of the whole process costs. The aim of this research work was to evaluate the potential of using volatile fatty acids (VFAs), derived from acidogenic fermentation of food waste, as inexpensive carbon sources for the production of PHAs through bacterial cultivation. Bacillus megaterium could assimilate glucose, acetic acid, butyric acid, and caproic acid as single carbon sources in synthetic medium with maximum PHAs production yields of 9–11%, on a cell dry weight basis. Single carbon sources were then replaced by a mixture of synthetic VFAs and by a VFAs-rich stream from the acidogenic fermentation of food waste. After 72 h of cultivation, the VFAs were almost fully consumed by the bacterium in both media and PHAs production yields of 9–10%, on cell dry weight basis, were obtained. The usage of VFAs mixture was found to be beneficial for the bacterial growth that tackled the inhibition of propionic acid, iso-butyric acid, and valeric acid when these volatile fatty acids were used as single carbon sources. The extracted PHAs were revealed to be polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) by characterization methods of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The obtained results proved the possibility of using VFAs from acidogenic fermentation of food waste as a cheap substrate to reduce the cost of PHAs production. 

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Taylor & Francis Group, 2021. Vol. 12, no 1, p. 2480-2498
Keywords [en]
Acidogenic fermentation, bacillus megaterium, biopolymers, food waste, polyhydroxyalkanoates, polyhydroxybutyrate, volatile fatty acids
National Category
Industrial Biotechnology
Research subject
Resource Recovery
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-25820DOI: 10.1080/21655979.2021.1935524ISI: 000660944800001PubMedID: 34115556Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85107737778OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hb-25820DiVA, id: diva2:1578319
Available from: 2021-07-06 Created: 2021-07-06 Last updated: 2023-04-28
In thesis
1. Volatile Fatty Acids as a Key to Sustainability and Circularity in Polyhydroxyalkanoates Production
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Volatile Fatty Acids as a Key to Sustainability and Circularity in Polyhydroxyalkanoates Production
2023 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

The negative consequences of plastic pollution on both environmental and socio-economic aspects have motivated the development of sustainable and renewable materials to replace the petroleum-based plastic. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), which are bioplastics, having an outstanding biodegradability and rather comparable thermal and mechanical properties, are potential alternatives for the replacement of conventional plastics. However, one of the hurdles on the way to PHA commercial production is the cost of conventional feedstock, which can constitute up to 50% of the production cost. In this regard, volatile fatty acids (VFAs) derived from acidogenic fermentation of organic waste can be a promising substrate to increase the cost-competitiveness of PHA production. Therefore, in this thesis, VFAs were utilized and developed to be a key carbon feedstock for the sustainable and economically feasible production of PHAs. The applicability of individual and mixed VFAs as potential substrates was initially investigated through the cultivation of two different PHA-bearing bacteria of Bacillus megaterium and Cupriavidus necator, providing an average PHA yield on biomass of 10 and 55%, respectively. Further thorough studies, in terms of VFAs loading and inhibition thresholds and operating parameters, were conducted to improve the conversion efficiency of VFAs by C. necator. Consequently, a biomass yield on VFAs of up to 82% was obtained, rendering a PHA accumulation of 1 g/L using actual waste derived VFA effluent. In addition, in order to tackle the inherent issue of low productivity in batch and/or fed-batch cultivations under high VFA containing feed, a novel approach of immersed membrane reactor (iMBR) was introduced and applied in this thesis. With the assistance of membrane filtration, the PHA production was conducted in semi-continuous mode (up to 128 h), yielding a maximum biomass and PHA production of 6.6 and 2.8 g/L, respectively. The outcomes achieved, furthermore, were 32.1 and 28.5%, respectively, higher than that from a continuous stirred tank (CSTR), in which the cultivation was affected by the washout effect. Moreover, considering the insufficiency of the current recycling methods of PHA-based products in terms of resource recovery, a novel attempt of acidogenic fermentation has been conducted to valorize the PHA-based composites through conversion into precursor VFAs. Afterwards, the recovered VFAs could be recirculated into PHA production, fulfilling the concept of a circular bioeconomy.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Borås: Högskolan i Borås, 2023
Series
Skrifter från Högskolan i Borås, ISSN 0280-381X ; 137
Keywords
bioplastics, food waste, polyhydroxyalkanoates, volatile fatty acids, immersed membrane bioreactor, acidogenic fermentation
National Category
Environmental Biotechnology
Research subject
Resource Recovery
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:hb:diva-29578 (URN)978-91-89271-92-0 (ISBN)978-91-89271-93-7 (ISBN)
Public defence
2023-05-26, C203, Allégatan 1, Borås, 10:00 (English)
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Supervisors
Available from: 2023-05-04 Created: 2023-03-28 Last updated: 2023-04-28Bibliographically approved

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Vu, Hoang DanhWainaina, StevenTaherzadeh, Mohammad JÅkesson, DanFerreira, Jorge

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