Effects of Fatty Acids on Growth and Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate Production in Bacteria

The effects of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (lauric acid, palmitic acid, steric acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, soybean oil) on Sphaerotilus natans, 0B17 (Pseudomonas sp.), and recombinant Escherichia coli DH5(/pUC19/CAB were studied. Oleic acid enhances Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) production in these three bacterial strains, suggesting that the single double bond of the acid activates the polyhydroxylkanoate accumulation enzymatic reaction. Under the effect of lauric acid and linoleic acid, the growth of S. natans and 0B17 were totally inhibited. However, the enhanced PHB accumulation in recombinant E. coli was observed.

Microbial synthesis and characterization of physiochemical properties of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) produced by bacteria isolated from activated sludge obtained from the municipal wastewater works in Hong Kong

The first objective of this study was the measurement of physical properties of P(3HB-co-3HV) copolymers with different (hydroxybutyrate) HB to (hydroxyvalerate) HV ratios produced by Bacillus cereus (TRY2) isolated from activated sludge. The 3HV PHBV copolymers were 0.05, 22.6, 39.2, 54.1, and 69.1 mol%, respectively. The second objective was to study possible waste water treatment and production of PHAs at the same time by B. cereus (TRY2) and Pseudomonas spp. (TOB17) (both were isolated from activated sludge), recombinant Bacillus DH5alpha, and a combination of the above three bacteria. The results were satisfactory; the maximum COD and TOC of the sewage sludge reduced were 53.5% and 67.5%, respectively.

A combined bioprocess for integrated removal of copper and organic pollutant from copper-containing municipal wastewater

Heavy metal-containing wastewater is difficult to treat by most of the bioprocess due to its toxicity to microorganism in activated sludge. In this study, a combined bioprocess consisting of biosorption section that contained magnetite immobilized Pseudomonas putida 5-x cell as biosorbent followed by sequence batch reactor (SBR) was developed to treat Cu(2+)-containing municipal wastewater. The production techniques of Pseudomonas putida 5-x cell as biosorbent, such as optimal cell harvest period and cell pretreatment techniques were studied. Experimental results showed, considering both cell biomass and cell adsorption capacity to Cu(2+), 36 h is the optimal harvest period in the course of culturing Pseudomonas putida 5-x cells as biosorbent, and 0.1-0.3 mol L(-1) HCl is an optimal cell pretreating eluant to improve Cu(2+) adsorption capacity. The performances of the combined bioprocess for treating Cu(2+) containing wastewater were assessed. Experimental results showed that after treatment by biosorption, the Cu(2+) level in wastewater was reduced to level that did not inhibit COD removal efficiency of subsequent SBR activated sludge process, although it still affected the COD adsorption capacity of activated sludge. In terms of COD removal, the biosorption section was efficient for reducing Cu(2+) concentration to provide biodegradable wastewater for subsequent SBR activated sludge process.

Contribution of cell outer membrane and inner membrane to Cu2+ adsorption by cell envelope of Pseudomonas putida 5-x

The role of outer and inner membrane in the Cu2+ adsorption process by gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas putida 5-x, which was isolated from local electroplating effluent with high Cu2+ accumulating capability, was studied. The results indicate that both the outer and inner membrane exhibited high Cu2+ adsorption capacity. Outer and inner membrane contributed about 30-35% and 20-25% parts of adsorption capacity in Cu2+ adsorption by cell envelope of Pseudomonas putida 5-x, respectively. The total contribution of outer and inner membrane to Cu2+ adsorption by cell envelope was much greater than that of peptidoglycan layer. The relatively high phospholipid content in the outer membrane might result in its greater heavy metal ions adsorption capacity. The Cu2+ binding process by the outer and inner membrane of Pseudomonas putida 5-x is the adsorption processes and can be described with Freundlich isotherms.

The biodegradation of 1,3-dichlorobenzene by an adapted strain Bacillus cereus PF-11 derived from town-gas industrial effluent

In the present study, an adapted bacterium PF-11 with high 1,3-dichlorobenzene degradation capability was isolated from town-gas industrial effluent through continuous introducing of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoquanidine (NTG). In suitable condition, a degradation rate of 32 mg L(-1) d(-1) of 1,3-dichlorobenzene was obtained by strain PF-11 with effective chlorion release. Strain PF-11 was tentatively identified as gram-positive Bacillus cereus. The substrate specificity of the strain PF-11 was relatively low, and the degradation rate for different chlorobenzenes was in the order of monochlorobenzene > 1,3-dichlorobenzene > 1,2-dichlorobenzene. Initial oxidation step was molecular oxygen attacking chlorobenzene ring catalyzed by dioxygenase.

Ni2+ removal and recovery from electroplating effluent by Pseudomonas putida 5-x cell biomass

Ni2+ and Cu2+ are the major heavy metal ions in electroplating wastewater of Hong Kong. In the present study, Pseudomonas putida 5-x cell biomass was used to remove Ni2+ from electroplating effluent. Ni2+ adsorption capacity of P. putida 5-x cell biomass cultured in sulphate-limiting medium was found to be minimum in early logarithmic growth phase, and maximum of 28.1 mg g(-1) in late stationary growth phase. Pretreated cells by 0.1 mol L(-1) HCl could greatly enhance the Ni2+ adsorption capacity of cell biomass from 28.1 to 36.7 mg g(-1) and had no significant effect on biomass loss. The adsorption process of P. putida 5-x fresh cells and pretreated cell all could be expressed with Freundlich isotherm. TEM analyses indicated that acidic pretreatment degraded the superficial layer-capsule outside of the fresh cell to improve the adsorption capacity of cell to Ni2+. The Ni2+ bound by P. putida 5-x cell biomass could be efficiently recovered using 0.1 mol L(-1) HCl, and the cell biomass could be reused at least five cycles for Ni2+ removal and recovery with 93% above removal efficiency and 98% above recovery rate. Owing to the Cu2+ presented in electroplating wastewater inhibiting Ni2+ adsorption process by P. putida 5-x cell biomass, two-stage biosorption processes should be designed to remove and recover Cu2+ and Ni2+ sequentially from electroplating effluent.

Role of cell surface components on Cu2+ adsorption by Pseudomonas putida 5-x isolated from electroplating effluent

A gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas putida 5-x with high Cu2+ accumulating capability was isolated from electroplating effluent in Kwun Tong, Hong Kong. The pretreated cells without superficial layer-capsule, isolated cell envelopes and the separated peptidoglycan layer materials were obtained from fresh P. putida 5-x cells, their Cu2+ adsorption capacities and properties were compared with that of the fresh cells. Pretreatment by 0.1 mol L(-1) HCl enhanced Cu2+ adsorption capacity due to the degradation of cell superficial layer-capsule of P. putida 5-x cells. Isolated cell envelopes possessed five times more Cu2+ adsorption capacity than that of fresh intact cell. The Cu2+ adsorption of separated peptidoglycan layer materials indicated that the peptidoglycan layer only played 10-15% part of the Cu2+ adsorption capacity, and implied other cell surface components such as outer membrane or inner membrane might play an important role in such high Cu2+ binding of the cell envelopes. The adsorption process of fresh cells, pretreated cells and cell envelopes of P. putida 5-x could be described with Freundlich isotherm, while the adsorption of Cu2+ by separated peptidoglycan layer materials was better described with Langmuir isotherm.

Bacterial biosorbent for removing and recovering copper from electroplating effluents

Investigations were carried out to study the removal and recovery of Cu(II) ions from wastewater by Micrococcus sp. The Langmuir isotherm model described very well the equilibrium behavior of copper biosorption, with maximum biosorption capacity (q(max)) reaching 52.1 mg Cu2+/g dry cell at pH 6. Biomass prewashed with sulfuric acid (0.05 mol 1(-1)) and sodium sulfate (1 mol l(-1)) solutions were shown to increase the copper removal capabilities up to 27% and 16%, respectively. Copper uptake by cells was negligible at pH 2.0 and then increased quickly with increasing pH until 6.0. Cells of Micrococcus sp. were immobilized in 2% calcium alginate and 10% polyacrylamide gel beads. A counter-current process comprising a series of immobilized cell reactors was developed for removing and recovering copper from electroplating effluents. This process was capable of producing an effluent at low copper concentration, with only a minimum amount of desorbing agent used. The technique of scanning electron microscopy coupled with X-ray dispersion analysis shows that Cu2+ exchanged with K+ and Ca2+ on the cell wall of Micrococcus sp., thereby suggesting ion exchange as one of the dominant mechanisms of metal biosorption for this bacterial strain.

Biosorption of heavy metals by bacteria isolated from activated sludge

Twelve aerobic bacteria from activated sludge were isolated and identified. These included both Gram-positive (e.g., Bacillus) and Gram-negative (e.g., Pseudomonas) bacteria. The biosorption capacity of these strains for three different heavy metals (copper, nickel, and lead) was determined at pH 5.0 and initial metal concentration of 100 mg/L. Among these 12 isolates, Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes was selected for further investigation owing to its high metal biosorption capacity. The lead and copper biosorption of this strain followed the Langmuir isotherm model quite well with maximum biosorption capacity (q(max)) reaching 271.7mg of Pb2+/g of dry cell and 46.8 mg of Cu2+/g of dry cell at pH 5.0. Study of the effect of pH on lead and copper removal indicated that the metal biosorption increased with increasing pH from 2.0 to 7.0. A mutual inhibitory effect was observed in the lead-copper system because the presence of either ion affected the sorption capacity of the other. Unequal inhibitions were observed in all the nickel binary systems. The increasing order of affinity of the three metals toward P. pseudoalcaligenes was Ni < Cu < Pb. The metal biosorptive potential of these isolates, especially P. pseudoalcaligenes, may have possible applications in the removal and recovery of metals from industrial effluents.

Removal and recovery of copper (II) ions by bacterial biosorption

Studies were conducted to investigate the removal and recovery of copper (II) ions from aqueous solutions by Micrococcus sp., which was isolated from a local activated sludge process. The equilibrium of copper biosorption followed the Langmuir isotherm model very well with a maximum biosorption capacity (q(max)) of 36.5 mg of Cu2+/g of dry cell at pH 5.0 and 52.1 mg of Cu2+/g of dry cell at pH 6.0. Cells harvested at exponential growth phase and stationary phase showed similar biosorption characteristics for copper. Copper uptake by cells was negligible at pH 2.0 and then increased rapidly with increasing pH until 6.0. In multimetal systems, Micrococcus sp. exhibited a preferential biosorption order: Cu approximate to Pb > Ni approximate to Zn. There is virtually no interference with copper uptake by Micrococcus sp. from solutions bearing high concentrations of Cl-, SO4(2-), and NO3- (0-500 mg/L). Sulfuric acid (0.05 M) was the most efficient desorption medium, recovering >90% of the initial copper sorbed. The copper capacity of Micrococcus sp. remained unchanged after five successive sorption and desorption cycles. Immobilization of Micrococcus sp. in 2% calcium alginate and 10% polyacrylamide gel beads increased copper uptake by 61%. Biomass of Micrococcus sp. may be applicable to the development of potentially cost-effective biosorbent for removing and recovering copper from effluents.

Production of polyhydroxybutyrate by Bacillus species isolated from municipal activated sludge

Plastic wastes are considered to be severe environmental contaminants causing waste disposal problems. Widespread use of biodegradable plastics is one of the solutions, but it is limited by high production cost. Biologic wastewater treatment generates large quantities of biomass as activated sludge. Only a few reports focus on the potential of utilizing resident Bacillus species from activated sludge in polyhydroxbutyrate (PHB) production as well as the production of PHB from food wastes. They have attractive properties such as short generation time, absence of endotoxins, and secretion of both amylases and proteinases that can well utilize food wastes for nutrients, which can further reduce the cost of production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Two PHA-producing strains, HF-1 and HF-2, were isolated from activated sludge. HF-1 outperformed HF-2 in terms of growth and PHB production in hydrolyzed soy and malt wastes. The isolated bacteria was characterized by DNA sequence alignment. Cell extracts of HF-1 were also compared to Bacillus megaterium cell extracts on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The biopolymers accumulated were analyzed by gas chromatography, nuclear magnetic resonance, and Fourier transform infrared methods.

Bleeding from cavernous angiomatosis of the rectum in Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome: report of three cases and literature review

Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome (KTS) is a congenital vascular anomaly characterized by limb hypertrophy, cutaneous hemangiomas, and varicosities. GI hemorrhage is a potentially serious complication secondary to diffuse hemangiomatous involvement of the gut. We report on three patients with KTS who presented with transfusion-dependent anemia and life-threatening bleeding due to extensive cavernous hemangiomas involving the rectum. Two patients were treated by proctocolectomy and coloanal anastomosis, which preserved anal function while controlling bleeding. The third patient required an abdominoperineal resection because of extensive rectal, perianal, and perineal angiomatosis. The literature on the evaluation and management of GI hemorrhage in KTS, particularly of colorectal origin, is reviewed.

Nutrient release and sediment oxygen demand in a eutrophic land-locked embayment in Hong Kong

Tolo Harbour is a large eutrophic land-locked estuarine embayment in Hong Kong. The rapid urbanization, commercio-industrial activities and lack of legislative control around the Tolo catchment produced large quantities of untreated or partially treated municipal sewage, agricultural wastes and cottage industrial effluents which were discharged into Tolo Harbour via rivers and watercourses. Control measures were implemented to reduce the external nutrient loading into the harbour since the early 1980s. Nutrient data for the period 1982 to 1997 were analyzed for temporal trends. Over the period of observation, the total inorganic nitrogen and total phosphorus both show an increasing trend, despite a decade of efforts in reducing nutrient loading. The release rates of potentially mobile nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) from the sediments collected from Tolo Harbour were determined by N and P release experiments under oxic conditions. The experimental results showed that the sediment released significant amount of nutrients, especially orthophosphates and ammonia nitrogen. The maximum release rates were 15.0 and 206.0 mg/m2/day, respectively. Although the external nutrient loading has been reduced, nutrients could gradually be released back into the water column from the contaminated sediments and delay improvement of the water quality.

Assessment of heavy metal cations in sediments of Shing Mun River, Hong Kong

The extent of heavy metal cation contamination in the Shing Mun River has been assessed. Sediment samples were taken at eight strategic locations along the river system. The highest concentrations of copper (Cu, 1.66 mg/g), lead (Pb, 0.354 mg/g), zinc (Zn, 2.2 mg/g) and chromium (Cr, 0.047 mg/g) were found in the Fo Tan Nullah, a major tributary of the Shing Mun River. The highest concentrations of aluminum (114 mg/g) and cadmium (Cd, 0.047 mg/g) were found in the Shing Mun Main River Channel. These contaminated sediments, accumulated over the years on the river bed, could act as secondary sources of pollution to the overlying water column in the river.

The degradation of xenobiotic branched carboxylic acids in anaerobic sediment of the Pearl River in Southern China

Xenobiotic branched carboxylic acids (BCAs) discharged by industries are often persistent in biological wastewater treatment systems and end up in water and sediments. In this study, the degradation of 12 typical BCAs in an anaerobic environment of river sediment was studied in vitro using enrichment shake-flask cultures. The anaerobic consortium taken from the river sediment, comprising BCA-degrading and methane-producing genera, degraded BCAs with tertiary carbons through beta-oxidation, followed by methanogenesis mechanisms. The maximum cell densities in the cultures using BCAs as the sole carbon source ranged between 5.0 and 6.0 x 10(5) cells/ml. The maximum degradation rates were between 5.0 and 8.5 x 10(-3) mmol/h. The consortium could not degrade BCAs with quaternary carbons. The degree of branching at the alpha or beta position along the carbon chain interfered with the beta-oxidation mechanisms. These BCAs would accumulate in the sediment and significantly affect the cycling of organic carbon and nutrients.

Design and performance of a fibrous bed bioreactor for odor treatment

Biological processes have become popular for odor treatment. In this study, a novel fibrous bed bioreactor was applied for treatment of odorous gas. The column reactor was packed with spirally wound fibrous sheet material on which a consortium of microorganisms selected from activated sludge was immobilized. The first stage of this work comprised a preliminary study that aimed at investigating the feasibility of the fibrous bed bioreactor for treatment of odorous volatile fatty acids (VFAs). In this stage, the performance of a fibrous bed bioreactor at increasing mass loadings ranging from 9.7 to 104.2 g/(m3.h) was studied. VFA removal efficiencies above 90% were achieved at mass loadings up to 50.3 g/(m3.h). At a mass loading of 104.2 g/(m3.h), removal efficiency was found to be 87.7%. In the second stage of the work, the process was scaled up with design and operational considerations, namely, packing medium, process condition, and configuration selections. A trickling biofilter with synthetic fibrous packing medium was selected. It was operated under countercurrent flow of gas and liquid streams. The effects of inlet concentration and empty bed retention time on bioreactor performance were studied. The bioreactor was effective in treating odorous VFAs at mass loadings up to 32 g/(m3.h), at which VFAs started to accumulate in the recirculation liquid, indicating that the biofilm was unable to degrade all the VFAs introduced. Although VFAs accumulated in the liquid phase, the removal efficiency remained above 99%, implying that the biochemical reaction rate, rather than gas-to-liquid mass transfer rate, was the limiting factor of this process. The bioreactor was stable for long-term operation; no clogging and degeneration of the packing medium was observed during the 4-mo operation.

A novel magnetite-immobilized cell process for heavy metal removal from industrial effluent

The sorption and desorption of copper (II) (Cu[II]) ions from the wastewater by magnetite-immobilized cells of Pseudomonas putida 5-x with acidic pretreatment were studied. Pretreating cells with 0.6 N HCl was found to enhance greatly the adsorption capacity of biomass up to 85.6 mg/g and had no significant effect on the loss of P. putida 5-x cells during biosorbent pretreatment. The biosorption capacity to Cu2+ of magnetite-immobilized cells of P. putida 5-x harvested during various growth phases was also investigated. The experimental results illustrated that the adsorption capacity to Cu2+ of P. putida 5-x cultured in sulfate-limiting medium reached maximum during the late stationary growth phase or early death phase, and reached minimum during the log growth phase. The mechanism of copper sequestering by this type of biomass was studied via transmission electron microscopy. A degradation of the peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall was observed in the acidic pretreatment, but no further degradation appeared after the adsorption-desorption cycle. Cu(II) accumulated mostly on the surface of the cell walls and was effectively desorbed by the acidic treatment during the desorption process.

Effect of food:microorganism ratio in activated sludge foam control

Foaming is a common operational problem in activated sludge processes that often adversely affects the quality of the treated effluent. Overgrowth of the filamentous Nocardia spp. in the microbial ecosystem was previously identified as the cause of foaming. In the present study, the specific growth rate of Nocardia amarae was found to be much higher than that of nonfilamentous bacteria under food:microorganism (F:M) ratios lower than 0.5 mg of biological oxygen demand (BOD)/(mg of mixed liquor suspended solids [MLSS].d). This indicated that filamentous overgrowth may occur in normal activated sludge processes that are continually operated under the usual F:M range of 0.2-0.6 mg of BOD/(mg of MLSS.d). A novel two-component feast-fast operation (FFO) that capitalized on the sensitivity of filamentous bacteria to F:M ratio was designed to prevent and control foaming problems. The F:M ratio in the "feasting" aeration unit was 0.8 mg of BOD/(mg of MLSS.d) whereas that in the "fasting" aeration unit was 0.2 mg of BOD/(mg of MLSS.d). The FFO resulted in an overall process F:M ratio that still remained within the normal range, while avoiding prolonged exposure of the activated sludge ecosystem to an F:M ratio below 0.5 mg of BOD/(mg of MLSS.d). The FFO suppressed the overgrowth of filamentous bacteria without adversely affecting the organic treatment efficiency of the modified process.

Optimal production of polyhydroxyalkanoates in activated sludge biomass

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) have been recognized as good candidates for biodegradable plastics, but their high price compared with conventional plastics has limited their use. In this study, activated sludge microorganisms from a conventional wastewater treatment process were induced, by controlling the carbon:nitrogen (C:N) ratio in the reactor liquor, to accumulate PHAs. In addition, an intermittent nitrogen feeding program was established to optimize the volumetric PHA productivity in a wastewater treatment process. The optimal overall polymer production yield of 0.111 g of polymer/g of carbonaceous substrate consumed was achieved under a C:N ratio of 96:1 by feeding nitrogen in the reactor liquor once every four cycles. At the same time, the amount of excess sludge generated from the wastewater treatment process was reduced by 22.9%.

Effect of C:N molar ratio on monomer composition of polyhydroxyalkanoates produced by Pseudomonas mendocina 0806 and Pseudomonas pseudoalkaligenus YS1

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable polymers produced by bacteria. In this study, the effect of C:N molar ratio on the monomer composition of PHAs was investigated, including medium chain length PHA produced by Pseudomonas mendocina 0806 and PHA blends consisting of monomers of 3-hydroxybutyrate and medium chain length hydroxyalkanoate produced by Pseudomonas pseudoalkaligenus YS1. It was observed that there were some fixed ranges of C:N molar ratio that affect the monomer composition of PHA independently of the substrate. For strain 0806, the ranges were C:N < 20, 20 < C:N < 200, and C:N > 200. The monomer composition was constant among these ranges when using glucose and octanoate as the sole substrate. For strain YS1, the ranges were C:N < 20, 20 < C:N < 45, and C:N > 45. These results are useful for controlling monomer composition in PHA production.

Effects of trace levels of copper, chromium, and zinc ions on the performance of activated sludge

The effects of copper, chromium, and zinc ions, at trace levels, on the performance of a simulated activated sludge process were investigated. The results of batch adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption of copper, chromium, and zinc ions followed both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The presence of trace levels of these three metals not only reduced the adsorption rate of organic matters but also the chemical oxygen demand adsorption capacity (CAC) of the activated sludge. Metal ions competed with the organic substrate for adsorption binding sites on the surfaces of activated sludge bioflocs and reduced the CAC. Studies performed in a sequential batch reactor (SBR) showed that the presence of trace levels of heavy metal ions in wastewater affected the SBR performance to different extents depending on the hydraulic retention time (HRT). When the reactors were operated at short HRTs of 2.5 d or less, the presence of trace levels of heavy metal ions reduced substantially the CAC of activated sludge, which, in turn, affected significantly the performance of the SBR. However, under longer HRTs (e.g., 5 d), the heavy metal ions in the wastewater reduced the CAC but had no significant effect on the chemical oxygen demand removal efficiency.

Degradation pathway of persistent branched fatty acids in natural anaerobic ecosystem

Branched fatty acids (BAFs) in industrial effluents are often persistent in biological wastewater treatment systems and end up as organic contaminants in the water environment. In this study, degradation of eight characteristic BAFs in a natural anaerobic ecosystem of an eutrophic river sediment was studied in vitro by enrichment culture techniques. The anaerobic consortium, comprising of BFA-degrading and methane-producing genera, degraded BFAs with a tertiary carbon through beta-oxidation followed by methanogenesis mechanisms. The consortium could not degrade BFAs with a quaternary carbon. The degree of branching at the alpha or beta position along the carbon chain interfered with the beta-oxidation mechanisms, and hence affected the degradability of the compound.

Microbial production of polyhydroxyalkanoates by bacteria isolated from oil wastes

A Gram-positive coccus-shaped bacterium capable of synthesizing higher relative molecular weight (M(r)) poly-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) was isolated from sesame oil and identified as Staphylococcus epidermidis (by Microbial ID, Inc., Newark, NJ). The experiment was conducted by shake flask fermentation culture using media containing fructose. Cell growth up to a dry mass of 2.5 g/L and PHB accumulation up to 15.02% of cell dry wt was observed. Apart from using single carbohydrate as a sole carbon source, various industrial food wastes including sesame oil, ice cream, malt, and soya wastes were investigated as nutrients for S. epidermidis to reduce the cost of the carbon source. As a result, we found that by using malt wastes as nutrient for cell growth, PHB accumulation of S. epidermidis was much better than using other wastes as nutrient source. The final dried cell mass and PHB production using malt wastes were 1.76 g/L and 6.93% polymer/cells (grams/gram), and 3.5 g/L and 3.31% polymer/cells (grams/gram) in shake flask culture and in fermentor culture, respectively. The bacterial polymer was characterized by 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C-NMR, Fourier transform infrared, and differential scanning calorimetry. The results show that with different industrial food wastes as carbon and energy sources, the same biopolymer (PHB) was obtained. However, the use of sesame oil as the carbon source resulted in the accumulation of PHB with a higher melting point than that produced from other food wastes as carbon sources by this organism under similar experimental conditions.