Continuous production of poly([R]-3-hydroxybutyrate) by Cupriavidus necator in a multistage bioreactor cascade.

Poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) constitute biodegradable polyesters and are considered among the most promising candidates to replace common petrochemical plastics in various applications. To date, all commercial processes for PHA production employ microbial discontinuous fed-batch fermentations. These processes feature drawbacks such as varying product quality and the inevitable periods of downtime for preparation and post-treatment of the bioreactor equipment.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate production from whey by Pseudomonas hydrogenovora.

Whey permeate from dairy industry was hydrolyzed enzymatically to cleave its main carbon source, lactose, to glucose and galactose. The hydrolysis products were chosen as carbon sources for the production of poly-3-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) by Pseudomonas hydrogenovora. In shaking flask experiments, the utilization of whey permeate as a cheap substrate was compared to the utilization of pure glucose and galactose for bacterial growth under balanced conditions as well as for the production of PHB under nitrogen limitation.

Potential of various archae- and eubacterial strains as industrial polyhydroxyalkanoate producers from whey.

Three different microbial wild-type strains are compared with respect to their potential as industrial scale polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) producers from the feed stock whey lactose. The halophilic archaeon Haloferax mediterranei as well as two eubacterial strains (Pseudomonas hydrogenovora and Hydrogenophaga pseudoflava) are investigated. H.

Assessment of formal and low structured kinetic modeling of polyhydroxyalkanoate synthesis from complex substrates.

A formal kinetic mathematical model for poly-(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) [P(3HB-co-3HV-co-4HB)] terpolyester synthesis from glucose and galactose derived from whey permeate supplemented with gamma-butyrolactone by the archaeon Haloferax mediterranei was created. Further, a low structured mathematical model for poly-3-hydroxybutyrate synthesis from whey permeate by Pseudomonas hydrogenovora was developed. In both cases, biosyntheses for obtaining the experimental data used for compiling the models were performed via fed-batch cultivations.