A polyhydroxyalkanoates bioprocess improvement case study based on four fed-batch feeding strategies.

The modelling and optimization of a process for the production of the medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA) by the bacterium Pseudomonas putida KT2440 when fed a synthetic fatty acid mixture (SFAM) was investigated. Four novel feeding strategies were developed and tested using a constructed model and the optimum one implemented in further experiments. This strategy yielded a cell dry weight of 70.6 g l-1 in 25 h containing 38% PHA using SFAM at 5 l scale. A phosphate starvation strategy was implemented to improve PHA content, and this yielded 94.1 g l-1 in 25 h containing 56% PHA using SFAM at 5 l scale. The process was successfully operated at 20 l resulting in a cell dry weight of 91.2 g l-1 containing 65% PHA at the end of a 25-h incubation.

Identification and characterization of an acyl-CoA dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas putida KT2440 that shows preference towards medium to long chain length fatty acids.

Diverse and elaborate pathways for nutrient utilization, as well as mechanisms to combat unfavourable nutrient conditions make Pseudomonas putida KT2440 a versatile micro-organism able to occupy a range of ecological niches. The fatty acid degradation pathway of P. putida is complex and correlated with biopolymer medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA) biosynthesis. Little is known about the second step of fatty acid degradation (ß-oxidation) in this strain. In silico analysis of its genome sequence revealed 21 putative acyl-CoA dehydrogenases (ACADs), four of which were functionally characterized through mutagenesis studies. Four mutants with insertionally inactivated ACADs (PP_1893, PP_2039, PP_2048 and PP_2437) grew and accumulated mcl-PHA on a range of fatty acids as the sole source of carbon and energy. Their ability to grow and accumulate biopolymer was differentially negatively affected on various fatty acids, in comparison to the wild-type strain. Inactive PP_2437 exhibited a pattern of reduced growth and PHA accumulation when fatty acids with lengths of 10 to 14 carbon chains were used as substrates. Recombinant expression and biochemical characterization of the purified protein allowed functional annotation in P. putida KT2440 as an ACAD showing clear preference for dodecanoyl-CoA ester as a substrate and optimum activity at 30 °C and pH 6.5-7.

Conversion of post consumer polyethylene to the biodegradable polymer polyhydroxyalkanoate.

A process for the conversion of post consumer (agricultural) polyethylene (PE) waste to the biodegradable polymer medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA) is reported here. The thermal treatment of PE in the absence of air (pyrolysis) generated a complex mixture of low molecular weight paraffins with carbon chain lengths from C8 to C32 (PE pyrolysis wax). Several bacterial strains were able to grow and produce PHA from this PE pyrolysis wax. The addition of biosurfactant (rhamnolipids) allowed for greater bacterial growth and PHA accumulation of the tested strains. Some strains were only capable of growth and PHA accumulation in the presence of the biosurfactant. Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO-1 accumulated the highest level of PHA with almost 25 % of the cell dry weight as PHA when supplied with the PE pyrolysis wax in the presence of rhamnolipids. The change of nitrogen source from ammonium chloride to ammonium nitrate resulted in faster bacterial growth and the earlier onset of PHA accumulation. To our knowledge, this is the first report where PE is used as a starting material for production of a biodegradable polymer.

Process analysis of the conversion of styrene to biomass and medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate in a two-phase bioreactor.

The improvement and modeling of a process for the supply of the volatile aromatic hydrocarbon, styrene, to a fermentor for increased biomass production of the medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA) accumulating bacterium Pseudomonas putida CA-3 was investigated. Fed-batch experiments were undertaken using different methods to provide the styrene. Initial experiments where styrene was supplied as a liquid to the bioreactor had detrimental effects on cell growth and inhibited PHA polymer accumulation. By changing the feed of gaseous styrene to liquid styrene through the air sparger a 5.4-fold increase in cell dry-weight was achieved (total of 10.56 g L(-1)) which corresponds to a fourfold improvement in PHA production (3.36 g L(-1)) compared to previous studies performed in our laboratory (0.82 g L(-1)). In addition this final improved feeding strategy reduced the release of styrene from the fermentor 50-fold compared to initial experiments (0.12 mL total styrene released per 48 h run). An unstructured kinetic model was developed to describe cell growth along with substrate and oxygen utilization. The formation of dispersed gas (air) and liquid (styrene) phases in the medium and the transfer of styrene between the aqueous and dispersed liquid droplet phases was also modeled. The model provided a detailed description of these phase transitions and helped explain how the feeding strategy led to improved process performance in terms of final biomass levels. It also highlighted the key factors to be considered during further process improvement.