An efficient and eco-friendly approach for the sustainable recovery and properties characterization of polyhydroxyalkanoates produced by methanotrophs

My Ha Tran, Tae Rim Choi, Yung Hun Yang, Ok Kyung Lee, Eun Yeol Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Synthetic biodegradable and bio-based polymers have emerged as sustainable alternatives to nonrenewable petroleum-derived polymers which cause serious environmental issues. In particular, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are promising biopolymers owing to their outstanding biodegradability and biocompatibility. The production of the homopolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) from type II methanotrophs via microbial fermentation was presented. For the efficient extraction and recovery of intracellular PHA from methanotrophs, different extraction approaches were investigated including solvent extraction using 1,3-dioxolane as a green solvent, integrated cell lysis and solvent extraction, and cell digestion without the use of organic solvents. Among various extraction approaches, the integrated method exhibited the highest extraction performance, with PHA recovery and purity exceeding 91 % and 93 %, respectively, even when the PHA content of the cells was low. Furthermore, the molecular weight, thermal stability, and mechanical properties of the recovered PHA were comprehensively analyzed to suggest its suitable practical applications. The obtained properties were comparable to that of the commercial PHA products and PHA produced from other microbial species, indicating an efficient recovery of high-quality PHA produced from methanotrophs.

Original languageEnglish
Article number128687
JournalInternational Journal of Biological Macromolecules
Volume257
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023

Keywords

  • Biodegradable plastics
  • Eco-friendly extraction
  • Methanotrophs
  • Microbial fermentation
  • Polyhydroxyalkanoates

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