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Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) production by Rhodopseudomonas sp. S16-VOGS3 cells grown in digested sludge

Environmental Technology & Innovation 2023 12 citations ? Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count. Score: 40 ? 0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Eleftherios Touloupakis, Angeliki Chatziathanasiou, Demetrios F. Ghanotakis, Pietro Carlozzi, Isabella Pecorini

Summary

Researchers demonstrated that photosynthetic bacteria can be grown using nutrient-rich wastewater sludge as a low-cost medium, producing a biodegradable plastic called PHB (polyhydroxybutyrate) when phosphate becomes scarce. This approach offers a way to create eco-friendly bioplastics from waste materials, reducing reliance on petroleum-based plastics.

The biomass produced by cultivating photosynthetic bacteria could be used for a variety of applications, such as feedstock for laying hens and/or bioplastic production. To achieve high productivity, it is important to optimize certain criteria such as the availability of water, nutrients, and light. Due to the high price of nutrients, alternatives such as the use of digested sludge as a nutrient source have been explored. In this study, digested sludge was tested as cultivation medium in order to promote Rhodopseudomonas sp. S16-VOGS3 growth and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) production. A cylindrical photobioreactor (0.22-L working volume) was sufficient to ensure optimal mixing of the culture and adequate exposure of the bacterial cells to the light. By using 8% of the digested sludge diluted in sterile deionized water, Rhodopseudomonas cells grew fast and stabilized at a value of 0.37 ± 0.01 g L−1 of cell dry weight (CDW). Amounts higher than 8%–12% of digested sludge should be investigated to improve the process efficiency. PHB production started as soon as phosphate was limited in the culture and continued over time to a maximum concentration of 18.5 mg L−1 and 5.2 ± 0.2% of CDW. This study demonstrated that digested sludge can be effectively used as a suitable feedstock for the cultivation of Rhodopseudomonas sp. S16-VOGS3.

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