Response of a three-stage process for PHA production by mixed microbial cultures to feedstock shift: impact on polymer composition.

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) can be produced by mixed microbial cultures (MMC) using a three-stage process. An attractive feature of MMC for PHA production is the ability to use waste/surplus feedstocks. In this study, the effect of a feedstock shift, mimicking a seasonal feedstock scenario and/or as a strategy for controlling polymer composition, on a MMC PHA production process was assessed using cheese whey (CW) and sugar cane molasses (SCM) as model feedstocks. The acidogenic stage responded immediately to the feedstock shift by changing the fermented products profile, with acetate and butyrate being the main acids produced from CW, while for SCM propionate and valerate were the dominant products. The fermentation process was then quite stable during long term operation. The PHA culture selection stage also responded quickly to the fermented feestocks shift, generating a polymer whose composition was linearly dependent on the concentration of HV and HB precursors produced in the acidogenic stage. The selected culture reached a maximum PHA content of 56% and 65% with fermented SCM and CW, respectively. Mixing fermented CW and SCM, in equal volume proportions, demonstrated the possibility of using different fermented feedstocks for tailoring polymer composition.

[1]  A. Werker,et al.  Crystallisation and fractionation of selected polyhydroxyalkanoates produced from mixed cultures. , 2014, New biotechnology.

[2]  Rui Oliveira,et al.  Optimization of polyhydroxybutyrate production by mixed cultures submitted to aerobic dynamic feeding conditions , 2004, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[3]  R. Marchessault,et al.  Studies of composition and crystallinity of bacterial poly(β-hydroxybutyrate-co-β-hydroxyvalerate) , 1986 .

[4]  R. Newman,et al.  Physico-chemical properties of polyhydroxyalkanoate produced by mixed-culture nitrogen-fixing bacteria , 2009, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[5]  Tajalli Keshavarz,et al.  Polyhydroxyalkanoates: bioplastics with a green agenda. , 2010, Current opinion in microbiology.

[6]  P. Barham,et al.  Nucleation, growth and morphology of poly(hydroxybutyrate) and its copolymers , 1991, Journal of Materials Science.

[7]  Mark C M van Loosdrecht,et al.  Waste to resource: Converting paper mill wastewater to bioplastic. , 2012, Water research.

[8]  F. Smith,et al.  COLORIMETRIC METHOD FOR DETER-MINATION OF SUGAR AND RELATED SUBSTANCE , 1956 .

[9]  M. Loosdrecht,et al.  Effect of temperature and cycle length on microbial competition in PHB-producing sequencing batch reactor , 2011, The ISME Journal.

[10]  M. Reis,et al.  Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production by a mixed microbial culture using sugar molasses: effect of the influent substrate concentration on culture selection. , 2010, Water research.

[11]  Adrian Oehmen,et al.  Denitrifying phosphorus removal: linking the process performance with the microbial community structure. , 2007, Water research.

[12]  M. V. van Loosdrecht,et al.  Development of Bio-PORec® system for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production and its storage in mixed cultures of palm oil mill effluent (POME). , 2012, Bioresource technology.

[13]  D. Dionisi,et al.  Olive oil mill effluents as a feedstock for production of biodegradable polymers. , 2005, Water research.

[14]  M A M Reis,et al.  Strategies for the development of a side stream process for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production from sugar cane molasses. , 2007, Journal of biotechnology.

[15]  D. Morris.  Quantitative Determination of Carbohydrates With Dreywood's Anthrone Reagent. , 1948, Science.

[16]  Mauro Majone,et al.  6.51 – Mixed Culture Processes for Polyhydroxyalkanoate Production from Agro-Industrial Surplus/Wastes as Feedstocks , 2011 .

[17]  Maria A M Reis,et al.  Synthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates from different short-chain fatty acids by mixed cultures submitted to aerobic dynamic feeding. , 2006, Journal of biotechnology.

[18]  M. Reis,et al.  Influence of feeding strategies of mixed microbial cultures on the chemical composition and microstructure of copolyesters P(3HB‐co‐3HV) analyzed by NMR and statistical analysis , 2009, Magnetic resonance in chemistry : MRC.

[19]  A. E. Greenberg,et al.  Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater seventh edition , 2013 .

[20]  L. H. Koehler.  Differentiation of carbohydrates by anthrone reaction rate and color intensity. , 1952 .

[21]  Alan Werker,et al.  Acidogenic fermentation of industrial wastewaters: Effects of chemostat retention time and pH on volatile fatty acids production , 2008 .

[22]  F. Chiampo,et al.  Production of polyhydroxyalcanoates (PHAs) using milk whey and dairy wastewater activated sludge production of bioplastics using dairy residues. , 2010, Journal of bioscience and bioengineering.

[23]  M. Gazzano,et al.  Study of the crystal phase and crystallization rate of bacterial poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) , 1992 .

[24]  João M. L. Dias,et al.  Flux balance analysis of mixed microbial cultures: application to the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates from complex mixtures of volatile fatty acids. , 2012, Journal of biotechnology.

[25]  R. Bailey.  The reaction of pentoses with anthrone. , 1958, The Biochemical journal.

[26]  M. V. van Loosdrecht,et al.  Polyhydroxybutyrate production from lactate using a mixed microbial culture , 2011, Biotechnology and bioengineering.

[27]  T. Chakrabarti,et al.  Study on poly-hydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production in pilot scale continuous mode wastewater treatment system. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[28]  Y. Inoue,et al.  Structure, Properties and Biodegradation of Some Bacterial Copoly(hydroxyalkanoate)s , 2005 .

[29]  M. Reis,et al.  Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates from fermented sugar cane molasses by a mixed culture enriched in glycogen accumulating organisms. , 2010, Journal of biotechnology.

[30]  A. Hassan,et al.  Invited review: anaerobic fermentation of dairy food wastewater. , 2012, Journal of dairy science.

[31]  João M. L. Dias,et al.  Recent advances in polyhydroxyalkanoate production by mixed aerobic cultures: from the substrate to the final product. , 2006, Macromolecular bioscience.

[32]  P. Johansson,et al.  Molecular weight and thermal properties of polyhydroxyalkanoates produced from fermented sugar molasses by open mixed cultures. , 2010, Journal of biotechnology.

[33]  O. H. Lowry,et al.  Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent. , 1951, The Journal of biological chemistry.

[34]  M A M Reis,et al.  Mixed culture polyhydroxyalkanoates production from sugar molasses: the use of a 2-stage CSTR system for culture selection. , 2010, Bioresource technology.

[35]  M. Reis,et al.  Link between microbial composition and carbon substrate-uptake preferences in a PHA-storing community , 2012, The ISME Journal.

[36]  D. Dionisi,et al.  Effect of pH on the production of bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates by mixed cultures enriched under periodic feeding , 2010 .

[37]  E. Pollet,et al.  Mixed culture polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production from volatile fatty acid (VFA)-rich streams: effect of substrate composition and feeding regime on PHA productivity, composition and properties. , 2011, Journal of biotechnology.

[38]  D. Dionisi,et al.  Exploiting olive oil mill effluents as a renewable resource for production of biodegradable polymers through a combined anaerobic-aerobic process , 2009 .

[39]  Maria A M Reis,et al.  The influence of process parameters on the characteristics of polyhydroxyalkanoates produced by mixed cultures. , 2008, Macromolecular bioscience.