Influence of environmental conditions on accumulated polyhydroxybutyrate in municipal activated sludge

Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) was accumulated in full-scale municipal waste activated sludge at pilot scale. After accumulation, the fate of the PHB-rich biomass was evaluated over two weeks as a function of initial pH (5.5, 7.0 and 10), and incubation temperature (25, 37 and 55 °C), with or without aeration. PHB became consumed under aerobic...

Quantification of polyhydroxyalkanoate accumulated in waste activated sludge

Polyhydroxyalkanoate accumulation experiments at pilot scale were performed with fullscale municipal waste activated sludge. Development of biomass PHA content was quantified by thermogravimetric analysis. Over 48 h the biomass reached up to 0.49 ± 0.03 gPHA/gVSS (n=4). Samples were processed in parallel to characterise the distribution of...

Scaling-up microbial community-based polyhydroxyalkanoate production: status and challenges

Conversion of organic waste and wastewater to polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) offers a potential to recover valuable resources from organic waste. Microbial community-based PHA production systems have been successfully applied in the last decade at lab- and pilot-scales, with a total of 19 pilot installations reported in the scientific...

Biopolymer scleroglucan as an emulsion stabilizer

In this study, we investigated the Stabilization of bitumen emulsions by scleroglucan, a rigid triple-helix forming biopolymer, in combination with a pH-sensitive cationic surfactant. Various aspects of the emulsification process and the final composition influence the Stabilization. We examined two different methods to add scleroglucan to...

CoRncrete: A corn starch based building material

Starch is a natural polymer which is commonly used as a cooking ingredient. The renewability and bio-degradability of starch has made it an interesting material for industrial applications, such as production of bioplastic. This paper introduces the application of corn starch in the production of a novel construction material, named CoRncrete...

Biopolymer Production by Bacterial Enrichment Cultures Using Non-Fermented Substrates

Polyhydroxyalkanotes (PHAs) are naturally occurring polymers synthesized by a wide range of microorganisms. Their physiological role is to act as carbon and energy reserves, and their mechanical and physical properties are similar to those of petrochemical plastics. PHAs can be synthesized from renewable materials and they are biodegradable....