Methanogenic degradation of poly(3-hydroxyalkanoates).
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and the copolymer poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) were fermented to methane and carbon dioxide within 16 days by an anaerobic sewage sludge consortium. The cultures adapted quickly to metabolize these polymeric compounds, and between 83 and 96% of the substrate carbon was transformed to methane and carbon dioxide.
Budwill
K
K
Department of Microbiology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9.
Fedorak
P M
PM
Page
W J
WJ