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Ahuja V, Singh PK, Mahata C, Jeon JM, Kumar G, Yang YH, Bhatia SK. A review on microbes mediated resource recovery and bioplastic (polyhydroxyalkanoates) production from wastewater. Microb Cell Fact 2024; 23:187. [PMID: 38951813 PMCID: PMC11218116 DOI: 10.1186/s12934-024-02430-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plastic is widely utilized in packaging, frameworks, and as coverings material. Its overconsumption and slow degradation, pose threats to ecosystems due to its toxic effects. While polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) offer a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics, their production costs present significant obstacles to global adoption. On the other side, a multitude of household and industrial activities generate substantial volumes of wastewater containing both organic and inorganic contaminants. This not only poses a threat to ecosystems but also presents opportunities to get benefits from the circular economy. Production of bioplastics may be improved by using the nutrients and minerals in wastewater as a feedstock for microbial fermentation. Strategies like feast-famine culture, mixed-consortia culture, and integrated processes have been developed for PHA production from highly polluted wastewater with high organic loads. Various process parameters like organic loading rate, organic content (volatile fatty acids), dissolved oxygen, operating pH, and temperature also have critical roles in PHA accumulation in microbial biomass. Research advances are also going on in downstream and recovery of PHA utilizing a combination of physical and chemical (halogenated solvents, surfactants, green solvents) methods. This review highlights recent developments in upcycling wastewater resources into PHA, encompassing various production strategies, downstream processing methodologies, and techno-economic analyses. SHORT CONCLUSION Organic carbon and nitrogen present in wastewater offer a promising, cost-effective source for producing bioplastic. Previous attempts have focused on enhancing productivity through optimizing culture systems and growth conditions. However, despite technological progress, significant challenges persist, such as low productivity, intricate downstream processing, scalability issues, and the properties of resulting PHA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vishal Ahuja
- Department of Biotechnology, University Centre for Research & Development, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, 140413, India
| | - Pankaj Kumar Singh
- Department of Biotechnology, University Centre for Research & Development, Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, 140413, India
| | - Chandan Mahata
- Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, 1304 W. Pennsylvania Avenue, Urbana, 61801, USA
| | - Jong-Min Jeon
- Green & Sustainable Materials R&D Department, Research Institute of Clean Manufacturing System, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH), Chungnam, 331-825, Republic of Korea
| | - Gopalakrishnan Kumar
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul, 03722, Republic of Korea
- Institute of Chemistry, Bioscience and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Stavanger, Box 8600, Forus, Stavanger, 4036, Norway
| | - Yung-Hun Yang
- Department of Biological Engineering, College of Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Republic of Korea
- Institute for Ubiquitous Information Technology and Application, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Republic of Korea
| | - Shashi Kant Bhatia
- Department of Biological Engineering, College of Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Republic of Korea.
- Institute for Ubiquitous Information Technology and Application, Konkuk University, Seoul, 05029, Republic of Korea.
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Gottardo M, Zanatta S, Modesti M, Lorini L, Pavan P, Valentino F. Oxygen limitation in aerobic polyhydroxyalkanoates production from sewage sludge anaerobic fermentation liquids under low and medium organic loading rate. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 338:139468. [PMID: 37442385 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2023] [Revised: 06/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023]
Abstract
The present study describes the microbial production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) from thermally pre-treated sewage sludge at pilot scale level, investigating for the first time the effect of the organic loading rate (OLR) under oxygen limitation on biomass storage properties and kinetics. Polymer characteristics have been also evaluated. The selection/enrichment of PHA-storing biomass was successfully achieved in a Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR) under short hydraulic retention time (HRT; 2 days). Low OLR (2.05 g COD/L d) was ideal for the selection of an efficient PHA-producing consortium cultivated under limited oxygen availability. In the fed-batch accumulation conducted under high DO regime, such biomass was characterized by 51% of PHA content on cell dry weight, with a related storage yield (YP/Sbatch) of 0.61 CODPHA/CODS. On the contrary, medium OLR (4.56 g COD/L d) was not technically feasible to sustain the required consortium's selection under low DO regime. The PHA produced by biomass cultivated under low DO regime was characterized higher thermal stability and crystalline domain compared to PHA traditionally produced under high DO regime. The mass balance assessment highlighted a global yield of 51 g PHA/kg VS (volatile solids of thickened sludge), which was 9% lower than yield obtained under high DO regime, in the face of a realistic reduction of the energy cost of the process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Gottardo
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30170 Mestre-Venice, Italy.
| | - Silvia Zanatta
- Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padua, Italy
| | - Michele Modesti
- Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padua, Italy; Centre for Mechanics of Biological Materials, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padua, Italy
| | - Laura Lorini
- Department of Chemistry, La Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Pavan
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30170 Mestre-Venice, Italy
| | - Francesco Valentino
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30170 Mestre-Venice, Italy
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Mahato RP, Kumar S, Singh P. Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates from renewable resources: a review on prospects, challenges and applications. Arch Microbiol 2023; 205:172. [PMID: 37017747 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-023-03499-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Revised: 03/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023]
Abstract
Bioplastics replace synthetic plastics of petrochemical origin, which contributes challenge to both polymer quality and economics. Novel polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA)-composite materials, with desirable product quality, could be developed, thus targeting the global plastics market, in the coming years. It is possible that PHA can be a greener substitute for their petroleum-based competitors since they are simply decomposed, which may lessen the pressure on municipal and industrial waste management systems. PHA production has proven to be the bottleneck in industrial application and commercialization because of the high price of carbon substrates and downstream processes required to achieve reliability. Bacterial PHA production by these municipal and industrial wastes, which act as a cheap, renewable carbon substrate, eliminates waste management hassles and acts as an efficient substitute for synthetic plastics. In the present review, challenges and opportunities related to the commercialization of polyhydroxyalkanoates are discussed and presented. Moreover, it discusses critical steps of their production process, feedstock evaluation, optimization strategies, and downstream processes. This information may provide us the complete utilization of bacterial PHA during possible applications in packaging, nutrition, medicine, and pharmaceuticals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richa Prasad Mahato
- Department of Microbiology, Kanya Gurukul Campus, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar, 249407, India.
| | - Saurabh Kumar
- Bioprospection and Product Development Division, CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow, 226015, India
| | - Padma Singh
- Department of Microbiology, Kanya Gurukul Campus, Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar, 249407, India
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Amer A, Kim Y. Modeling the growth of diverse microorganisms during feast-famine enrichment. WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH : A RESEARCH PUBLICATION OF THE WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION 2022; 94:e10803. [PMID: 36332660 DOI: 10.1002/wer.10803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biodegradable polymers that can decrease the severe environmental pollution of petroleum plastics. PHA production by mixed microbial communities has been extensively studied to lower the high PHA prices. However, the competition between distinct microbial communities during the enrichment of PHA accumulators in mixed cultures has not been widely investigated. Thus, in this work, we developed a mathematical model for the competition between PHA accumulators and non-PHA accumulators in the feast-famine enrichment strategy. The developed model successfully simulated published lab-scale experimental data for Plasticicumulans acidivorans, a well-studied PHA accumulator that can store PHA up to 90% of the cell weight. The growth kinetics for both PHA and non-PHA accumulators were estimated and compared to the values in the literature. The uncertainties in the model kinetics were studied by expanding the model to include additional sub-biomass components for each heterotrophic group. As a result, the microbial diversity of microbial communities was observed to influence the enrichment of PHA accumulators in mixed cultures. Additionally, the calibrated model was applied to investigate the cultivation conditions, such as cycle lengths, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, and solids retention time for successful P. acidivorans enrichment in mixed cultures. The developed model can be applied to control the cultivation and enrichment of PHA accumulators in large-scale PHA production systems. PRACTITIONER POINTS: A new model for the enrichment of PHA accumulators was developed. The model can simulate PHA accumulation by enriched cultures. The model was calibrated and validated for Plasticicumulans acidivorans. The impact of microbial diversity on enriching PHA accumulators was investigated. Short cycles (<12 h) and SRT (<10 d) are suggested for successful enrichment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdelrahman Amer
- Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
- Civil Engineering Department, Menoufia University, Shebin ElKom, Egypt
| | - Younggy Kim
- Department of Civil Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
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Zhang Y, Peng Y, Gao X, Li X. A novel process for anammox pretreatment of municipal wastewater: semi-partial nitrification, biological phosphorus removal and recovery. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2022; 360:127585. [PMID: 35798168 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Achieving simultaneous semi-partial nitrification and deep phosphorus removal is a preferred process technology for Anammox pretreatment. In this study, semi-partial nitrification combined with in-situ phosphorus recovery (PNPR) was used to treat municipal wastewater. The SRT conflict between the nitrification and phosphorus removal was resolved by in-situ phosphorus recovery every 20 cycles of Anaerobic/Oxid, and a supernatant with more than 10 times the influent phosphorus concentration was obtained, thus achieving bio-enhanced phosphorus removal and recovery with satisfactory semi-partial-nitrification effluent. Interestingly, the results showed that phosphorus removal and recovery process could improve the activity of AOB. The PNPR system's nitrite accumulation rate (NAR) and phosphorus removal rate (PRR) were more than 90% each, whereas the relative abundance of AOB and PAOs increased from 0.04% to 0.74% and from 0.25% to 0.70%, respectively (P < 0.01). Furthermore, on average, the NO2--Neff/NH4+-Neff value was 1.96, which laid the foundation for the subsequent anammox treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yinong Zhang
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Yongzhen Peng
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China.
| | - Xinjie Gao
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
| | - Xiyao Li
- National Engineering Laboratory for Advanced Municipal Wastewater Treatment and Reuse Technology, Engineering Research Center of Beijing, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, PR China
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Enhancement of PHA Production by a Mixed Microbial Culture Using VFA Obtained from the Fermentation of Wastewater from Yeast Industry. FERMENTATION-BASEL 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/fermentation8040180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater from the yeast production industry (WWY) is potentially harmful to surface water due to its high nitrogen and organic matter content; it can be used to produce compounds of higher commercial value, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA). PHA are polyester-type biopolymers synthesized by bacteria as energy reservoirs that can potentially substitute petrochemical-derived plastics. In this exploratory work, effluent from WWY was used to produce PHA, using a three-step setup of mixed microbial cultures involving one anaerobic and two aerobic reactors. First, volatile fatty acids (VFA; 2.5 g/L) were produced on an anaerobic batch reactor (reactor A) fed with WWY, using a heat pretreated sludge inoculum to eliminate methanogenic activity. Concurrently, PHA-producing bacteria were enriched using synthetic VFA in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR, reactor C) operated for 78 days. Finally, a polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB)-producing reactor (reactor B) was assembled using the inoculum enriched with PHA-producing bacteria and the raw and distilled effluent from the anaerobic reactor as a substrate. A maximum accumulation of 17% of PHB based on cell dry weight was achieved with a yield of 1.2 g PHB/L when feeding with the distilled effluent. Roche 454 16S rRNA gene amplicon pyrosequencing of the PHA-producing reactor showed that the microbial community was dominated by the PHA-producing bacterial species Paracoccus alcalophilus (32%) and Azoarcus sp. (44%). Our results show promising PHB accumulation rates that outperform previously reported results obtained with real substrates and mixed cultures, demonstrating a sustainable approach for the production of PHA less prone to contamination than a pure culture.
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Awasthi MK, Singh E, Binod P, Sindhu R, Sarsaiya S, Kumar A, Chen H, Duan Y, Pandey A, Kumar S, Taherzadeh MJ, Li J, Zhang Z. Biotechnological strategies for bio-transforming biosolid into resources toward circular bio-economy: A review. RENEWABLE AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS 2022; 156:111987. [DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2021.111987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
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Estévez-Alonso Á, van Loosdrecht MCM, Kleerebezem R, Werker A. Simultaneous nitrification and denitrification in microbial community-based polyhydroxyalkanoate production. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2021; 337:125420. [PMID: 34175767 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Microbial community-based polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production has been demonstrated repeatedly at pilot scale. Ammonium, normally present in waste streams, might be oxidized by nitrifying bacteria resulting in additional aeration energy demand. The use of low dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations allowed to reduce nitrifying rates by up to 70% compared to non-oxygen limiting conditions. At lower DO concentrations nitrate was used as alternative electron acceptor for PHA production and therefore, a constant PHA production rate could only be maintained if nitrate was sufficiently available. An optimum DO concentration (0.9 mgO2/L) was found for which nitrification was mitigated but also exploited to supply requisite heterotrophic nitrate requirements that maintained maximum PHA production rates. PHA accumulations with such DO control was estimated to reduce oxygen demand by about 18%. This work contributes to establish fundamental insight towards viable industrial practice with the control and exploitation of nitrifying bacteria in microbial community-based PHA production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ángel Estévez-Alonso
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands; Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.
| | - Mark C M van Loosdrecht
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Robbert Kleerebezem
- Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Van der Maasweg 9, 2629 HZ Delft, The Netherlands
| | - Alan Werker
- Wetsus, European Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Water Technology, Oostergoweg 9, 8911 MA, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
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Wen Q, Liu B, Li F, Chen Z. Substrate strategy optimization for polyhydroxyalkanoates producing culture enrichment from crude glycerol. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2020; 311:123516. [PMID: 32428849 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/07/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Crude glycerol is by-product produced from biodiesel industry and can be converted directly by mixed microbial culture (MMC) into polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). This study investigated the effects of the reverse (SBR_A) and positive (SBR_B) glycerol gradient substrate strategy on PHA-accumulating culture enrichment and the maximum PHA accumulating stability under substrates with different glycerol and volatile fatty acid (VFA) proportion. The results showed that crude glycerol was mainly used for PHA production rather than biomass growth in SBR_A. The maximum qPHA was 0.65 g COD/g X-1·h-1 under sole crude glycerol condition in SBR_A, which was 2.41 times higher than that of SBR_B. Moreover, the PHA accumulating ability of the biomass from SBR_A was more stable than SBR_B. Saccharibacteria_genera_incertae_sedis was for the first time found to be the dominant genus using crude glycerol for PHA production. This research provides an insight into enrichment strategy to effectively enrich PHA-accumulating culture from crude glycerol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qinxue Wen
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Baozhen Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Fang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China
| | - Zhiqiang Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Urban Water Resource and Environment, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150090, China.
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Sabapathy PC, Devaraj S, Meixner K, Anburajan P, Kathirvel P, Ravikumar Y, Zabed HM, Qi X. Recent developments in Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) production - A review. BIORESOURCE TECHNOLOGY 2020; 306:123132. [PMID: 32220472 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Revised: 02/29/2020] [Accepted: 03/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are inevitably a key biopolymer that has the potential to replace the conventional petrochemical based plastics that pose jeopardy to the environment globally. Even then the reach of PHA in the common market is so restricted. The economy of PHA is such that, even after several attempts the overall production cost seems to be high and this very factor surpasses PHAs usage when compared to the conventional polymers. The major focus of the review relies on the synthesis of PHA from Mixed Microbial Cultures (MMCs), through a 3-stage process most probably utilizing feedstocks from waste streams or models that mimic them. Emphasis was given to the works carried out in the past decade and their coherence with each and every individual criteria (Aeration, Substrate and bioprocess parameters) such that to understand their effect in enhancing the overall production of PHA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Poorna Chandrika Sabapathy
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province 212013, China
| | - Sabarinathan Devaraj
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province 212013, China
| | - Katharina Meixner
- University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria; Department of Agrobiotechnology, Institute of Environmental Biotechnology, Konrad Lorenz Straße 20, 3430 Tulln, Austria
| | - Parthiban Anburajan
- School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Yonsei University, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea
| | - Preethi Kathirvel
- Department of Microbial Biotechnology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu 641046, India
| | - Yuvaraj Ravikumar
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province 212013, China
| | - Hossain M Zabed
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province 212013, China
| | - Xianghui Qi
- School of Food and Biological Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province 212013, China.
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