Fermentative bioconversion of food waste into biopolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) using Cupriavidus necator

Zubeen J. Hathi, Md Ariful Haque, Anshu Priya, Zi hao Qin, Shuquan Huang, Chun Ho Lam, Dimitris Ladakis, Chrysanthi Pateraki, Srinivas Mettu, Apostolis Koutinas, Chenyu Du, Carol Sze Ki Lin

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24 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Dependency on plastic commodities has led to a recurrent increase in their global production every year. Conventionally, plastic products are derived from fossil fuels, leading to severe environmental concerns. The recent coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has triggered an increase in medical waste. Conversely, it has disrupted the supply chain of personal protective equipment (PPE). Valorisation of food waste was performed to cultivate C. necator for fermentative production of biopolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV). The increase in biomass, PHBV yield and molar 3-hydroxy valerate (3HV) content was estimated after feeding volatile fatty acids. The fed-batch fermentation strategy reported in this study produced 15.65 ± 0.14 g/L of biomass with 5.32 g/L of PHBV with 50% molar 3HV content. This is a crucial finding, as molar concentration of 3HV can be modulated to suit the specification of biopolymer (film or fabric). The strategy applied in this study addresses the issue of global food waste burden and subsequently generates biopolymer PHBV, turning waste to wealth.

Original languageEnglish
Article number114323
Number of pages14
JournalEnvironmental Research
Volume215
Issue numberPart 1
Early online date19 Sep 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Dec 2022

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