title: Enrichment of Plasticicumulans acidivorans at pilot-scale for PHA production on industrial wastewater.
abstract: A PHA producing microbial culture dominated by Plasticicumulans acidivorans was enriched in a pilot plant using fermented wastewater from the Mars candy bar factory. The pilot plant comprised (1) anaerobic fermentation, (2) enrichment of a PHA-producing microbial community and (3) accumulation for maximization of the cellular PHA content. After anaerobic fermentation, the wastewater contained mainly VFAs (0.64 ± 0.15 gCOD/gCOD) and ethanol (0.22 ± 0.13 gCOD/gCOD). In the enrichment reactor (cycle 12 h, SRT 24 h) a feast-famine pattern was established with a feast phase of around 35 ± 5 min. The culture was able to accumulate 0.70 ± 0.05 gPHA/gVSS. The difference with previous lab-scale results from P. acidivorans, in which a PHA content of 0.90 gPHA/gVSS was achieved, could be attributed to the presence of solids in the influent, the growth of a side population and the accumulation of non-PHA storage compounds that appeared to be related to ethanol consumption.
authors.forename: Jelmer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tamisa
authors.forename: Kätlin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lužkov
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Mark C M
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: van Loosdrecht
authors.forename: Robbert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kleerebezem
mesh_terms: D002182:Candy; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism; D005285:Fermentation; D020563:Gammaproteobacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D007220:Industrial Waste; D054813:Polyhydroxyalkanoates / Q000378:metabolism*; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods; D062065:Wastewater
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D007220:Industrial Waste; D054813:Polyhydroxyalkanoates; D062065:Wastewater