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Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoate During Treatment of Tomato Cannery Wastewater
Author(s) -
Liu HsinYing,
Hall Patrizia V.,
Darby Jeannie L.,
Coats Erik R.,
Green Peter G.,
Thompson Donald E.,
Loge Frank J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.2175/106143007x221535
Subject(s) - polyhydroxyalkanoates , wastewater , pulp and paper industry , biomass (ecology) , sequencing batch reactor , sewage treatment , bioreactor , batch reactor , microorganism , fed batch culture , chemistry , environmental science , waste management , microbiology and biotechnology , fermentation , food science , biology , environmental engineering , bacteria , biochemistry , agronomy , catalysis , organic chemistry , engineering , genetics
Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production was achieved using tomato cannery waste coupled with a mixed microbial culture during wastewater treatment. The two‐stage PHA production process comprised a sequencing batch reactor (SBR), operating under a periodic feast–famine regime, to accomplish simultaneously wastewater treatment and selection of PHA‐accumulating microbes, followed by a batch reactor for the production of PHA‐rich biomass. The SBRs were efficient at removing soluble carbon (84%), ammonia (100%), and phosphorus (76%). Meanwhile, PHA‐accumulating microbes were enriched under the SBR operating conditions, and PHA content on a cell‐weight basis was within the range 7 to 11% in nonfiltered wastewater and 2 to 8% in filtered wastewater. Subsequently, batch studies were implemented with varying loading rates, ranging from 0.4 to 3.2 food‐to‐microorganism ratios. A maximum 20% PHA content on a cell‐weight basis was obtained. Based on the experimental results, a PHA biosynthesis‐degradation kinetic model was developed to (1) aid in the design of a pilot‐ or full‐scale PHA production process coupled with wastewater treatment and (2) determine optimal conditions for harvest of PHA‐rich biomass.