Bio-based conversion of volatile fatty acids from waste streams to polyhydroxyalkanoates using mixed microbial cultures

Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates is an important field in the biorefinery as bio-alternative to conventional plastics. However, its commercialization is still limited by high production cost. In this study, a process with the potential to reduce the production cost of polyhydroxyalkanoates was proposed. Mixed cultures accumulated polyhydroxyalkanoates using volatile fatty acid-rich effluents from waste streams, without pH and temperature control. In addition, the impact of two types of carbon sources was investigated by analyzing the microbial community as well as the polyhydroxyalkanoate accumulation capacity. Mixed cultures successfully adapted to different substrates, consuming the volatile fatty acids in their totality. The phyla Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes dominated the bacterial community. The highest polyhydroxyalkanoate content was 43.5% w/w, which is comparable to contents reported from mixed cultures using synthetic carbon sources. The biopolymer consisted of (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate 94.8 +/- 1.7% w/w and (R)-3-hydroxyvaletare 5.2 +/- 1.7% w/w.

Automated summary

This study proposed a potential process to reduce the production cost of polyhydroxyalkanoates by utilizing mixed cultures to accumulate the biopolymer using volatile fatty acid-rich effluents from waste streams, without the need for pH and temperature control. The microbial community successfully adapted to different substrates, consuming the volatile fatty acids completely. The highest polyhydroxyalkanoate content reached 43.5% w/w, with a biopolymer composition mainly consisting of (R)-3-hydroxybutyrate and (R)-3-hydroxyvalerate.