4.5 Article

Feasibility study of an alkaline-based chemical treatment for the purification of polyhydroxybutyrate produced by a mixed enriched culture

Journal

AMB EXPRESS
Volume 5, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

BIOMED CENTRAL LTD
DOI: 10.1186/s13568-015-0096-5

Keywords

Polyhydroxybutyrate; Alkaline treatment; Crystallinity; Thermal stability; Mixed cultures

Funding

  1. Technology Foundation STW (W2R) [11605]

Ask authors/readers for more resources

This study focused on investigating the feasibility of purifying polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) from mixed culture biomass by alkaline-based chemical treatment. The PHB-containing biomass was enriched on acetate under non-sterile conditions. Alkaline treatment (0.2 M NaOH) together with surfactant SDS (0.2 w/v% SDS) could reach 99% purity, with more than 90% recovery. The lost PHB could be mostly attributed to PHB hydrolysis during the alkaline treatment. PHB hydrolysis could be moderated by increasing the crystallinity of the PHB granules, for example, by biomass pretreatment (e.g. freezing or lyophilization) or by effective cell lysis (e.g. adjusting alkali concentration). The suitability of the purified PHB by alkaline treatment for polymer applications was evaluated by molecular weight and thermal stability. A solvent based purification method was also performed for comparison purposes. As result, PHB produced by mixed enriched cultures was found suitable for thermoplastic applications when purified by the solvent method. While the alkaline method resulted in purity, recovery yield and molecular weight comparable to values reported in literature for PHB produced by pure cultures, it was found unsuitable for thermoplastic applications. Given the potential low cost and favorable environmental impact of this method, it is expected that PHB purified by alkaline method may be suitable for other non-thermal polymer applications, and as a platform chemical.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.5
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available