Production efficiency and properties of poly(3hydroxybutyrate-co-3hydroxyvalerate) generated via a robust bacterial consortium dominated by Zoogloea sp. using acidified discarded fruit juices as carbon source

Elianta Kora; Panagiotis C Tsaousis; Konstantinos S Andrikopoulos; Christos T Chasapis; George A Voyiatzis; Ioanna Ntaikou; Gerasimos Lyberatos

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.11.262

Production efficiency and properties of poly(3hydroxybutyrate-co-3hydroxyvalerate) generated via a robust bacterial consortium dominated by Zoogloea sp. using acidified discarded fruit juices as carbon source

Int J Biol Macromol. 2023 Jan 31:226:1500-1514. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.11.262. Epub 2022 Nov 26.

Authors

Elianta Kora¹, Panagiotis C Tsaousis², Konstantinos S Andrikopoulos³, Christos T Chasapis⁴, George A Voyiatzis⁵, Ioanna Ntaikou⁶, Gerasimos Lyberatos⁷

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology, GR 26504 Patras, Greece; Department of Environmental Engineering, University of Patras, 2 Seferi st., GR 30100, Agrinio, Greece.
² Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology, GR 26504 Patras, Greece; Interdepartmental Program of Graduate Studies on "Science & Technology of Polymers & Composites Materials", University of Patras, GR-26500 Rio-Patras, Greece.
³ Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology, GR 26504 Patras, Greece; Department of Physics, University of Patras, GR 26500 Patras, Greece.
⁴ Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 11635 Athens, Greece.
⁵ Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology, GR 26504 Patras, Greece.
⁶ Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology, GR 26504 Patras, Greece. Electronic address: ntaikou@iceht.forth.gr.
⁷ Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences, Foundation for Research and Technology, GR 26504 Patras, Greece; School of Chemical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou Campus, GR 15780 Athens, Greece.

PMID: 36511266
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2022.11.262

Abstract

In the current study, a mixed microbial culture (MMC) of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) producers was developed under nutrient stress and was assessed as biocatalyst for the production of high-yielding PHAs from fermented (acidified) discarded fruit juices (DFJ). The structure of the MMC was analyzed periodically to determine its microbial dynamics, revealing that Zoogloae sp. dominated throughout the operation of the system. The efficiency of PHAs production from the MMC was further optimized in batch mode by altering the ratio of C to N, the ratio of carbon sources (propionate and butyrate), and the initial pH, and subsequently different fermentation mixtures of acidified DFJ were assessed as substrates at optimal conditions. Upon solvent extraction, the properties of recovered PHAs were analyzed, showing that in all cases P(3HB-co-3HV) was produced, with T_m ranging from 90.5 to 168.8 °C, and maximum obtained yields 54.61 ± 4.31 % and 43.27 ± 2.13 %, from synthetic substrates and DFJ, respectively. Overall, it was shown that the developed MMC can be efficiently applied as biocatalyst for the exploitation of sugary wastewaters, such as DFJ, towards bio-based and biodegradable plastics bearing the required properties to substitute fossil plastics, into the concept of a circular economy.

Keywords: ATR-FTIR; DSC; Mixed cultures; NMR; Nutrients limitation; Poly-hydroxyalkanoates; Zoogloea.

MeSH terms

Bacteria / metabolism
Carbon
Fermentation
Fruit and Vegetable Juices
Polyhydroxyalkanoates*
Zoogloea* / metabolism

Substances

Carbon
Polyhydroxyalkanoates