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Non-sugar-based Bioprocess for P(3HB) Production
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Researchers developed a bio-based process for producing poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) bioplastic by feeding methane-converting bacteria to mealworms, which digested the cells and allowed recovery of PHB granules at 95% purity within 24 hours. This approach bypasses the need for toxic chlorinated solvents and offers a scalable, low-cost alternative for biopolymer extraction.
The bioeconomy today relies mostly on sugar and physicochemical extraction processes, which limit both cost reduction and scale-up potential, yet these two aspects are vital for the market success of circular bioeconomy products. Gas fermentation is a platform technology that utilizes all kinds of waste biomass streams through low-cost, clean, and well-defined gaseous substrates. It can be used to obtain bioplastics. In this work, methane (CH4) was subjected to methanotrophic conversion by Methylocystis sp. GB 25. The freeze-dried bacterial biomass containing 47 wt% P(3HB) – poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), was subsequently fed to mealworms. The cells were fully consumed, and the P(3HB) granules were recovered within 24 h. The final PHB purity obtained was 95 % through a simple purification step. This work demonstrated that a simple bioprocess for biopolymer extraction can be applied to small bacterial cells like methanotrophs, offering a viable alternative to classic downstream processing steps such as chlorinated solvent extraction. The methanotrophic PHB was found to exhibit high molecular weight, making it an interesting biobased, biodegradable polymer.
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Researchers isolated two new strains of methane-eating bacteria capable of converting waste methane gas — from landfills and digesters — into poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), a biodegradable plastic alternative. This dual approach could simultaneously reduce greenhouse gas emissions and produce an eco-friendly substitute for conventional petroleum-based plastics.
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Researchers used a methane-consuming bacterium to simultaneously convert natural gas and food waste byproducts into PHBV, a biodegradable plastic alternative, achieving yields that varied depending on the mix of waste acids supplied. This integrated biorefinery approach could reduce reliance on conventional petroleum-based plastics by making biodegradable polymers from waste streams.
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This review summarizes strategies for enhancing poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) bioplastic production by Cupriavidus necator using low-cost carbon sources, covering metabolic engineering approaches and fermentation optimization as sustainable alternatives to conventional plastics.
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Researchers optimized bioplastic (polyhydroxybutyrate) production by methanotrophic bacteria fed on methane and volatile fatty acids, finding that adding acetic acid at 300 mg/L under controlled pH increased PHB yield from 26.4% to 34.8% by weight and promoted higher molecular weight polymers, while also demonstrating that wastewater treatment plant sludge can serve as a scalable inoculum source.
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