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Long‐term operation of a two‐stage polyhydroxyalkanoates production process from hardwood sulphite spent liquor
Author(s) -
Queirós Diogo,
Fonseca Alexandre,
Lemos Paulo C,
Serafim Luísa S
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.4841
Subject(s) - polyhydroxyalkanoates , xylose , raw material , pulp and paper industry , biopolymer , bioplastic , chemistry , waste management , food science , organic chemistry , polymer , bacteria , biology , fermentation , engineering , genetics
BACKGROUND The development of sustainable industrial processes demands the recovery and transformation of their by‐products. The production of polyhydroxyalkanoates ( PHAs ) by mixed microbial cultures ( MMC ) is one of the available routes. This study evaluated the possibility of applying a two‐step PHAs production process using an industrial by‐product, hardwood sulphite spent liquor ( HSSL ), as feedstock for a MMC . The first step consisted in the selection of PHAs ‐storing microorganisms using an aerobic dynamic feeding strategy followed by a second step, accumulation. RESULTS The selected MMC , despite not being able to use the main carbon source of HSSL , lignosulphonates, revealed the capacity to consume acetate and xylose to accumulate poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐ co ‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) and glucose biopolymer. The maximum PHAs content was relatively low, 6.6%, with a maximum production yield of 0.49 C‐mmol HA C‐mmol S −1 during the selection stage. CONCLUSION A MMC was able to adapt to HSSL by consuming acetate and xylose. The imposed operational conditions resulted in a partial selection of the culture, since only acetate‐consuming organisms experienced a real feast/famine regime, resulting in low PHAs production. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry