title: Conversion of polyhydroxyalkanoates to methyl crotonate using whole cells.
abstract: Isolated polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) can be used to produce biobased bulk chemicals. However, isolation is complex and costly. To circumvent this, whole cells containing PHA may be used. Here, PHA containing 3-hydroxybutyrate and small amounts of 3-hydroxyvalerate was produced from wastewater and used in the conversion of the 3-hydroxybutyrate monomer to methyl crotonate. Due to the increased complexity of whole cell reaction mixtures compared to pure PHA, the effect of 3-hydroxyvalerate content, magnesium salts and water content was studied in order to evaluate the need for downstream processing. A water content up to 20% and the presence of 3-hydroxyvalerate have no influence on the conversion of the 3-hydroxybutyrate to methyl crotonate. The presence of Mg(2+)-ions resulted either in an increased yield or in byproduct formation depending on the counter ion. Overall, it is possible to bypass a major part of the downstream processing of PHA for the production of biobased chemicals.
authors.affiliation: Biobased Chemistry and Technology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spekreijse
authors.affiliation: Biobased Chemistry and Technology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Holgueras Ortega
authors.affiliation: Biobased Chemistry and Technology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J P M
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: Biobased Chemistry and Technology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Bitter
authors.affiliation: Biobased Chemistry and Technology, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: elinor.scott@wur.nl.
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Scott
mesh_terms: D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D003437:Crotonates / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D010421:Pentanoic Acids / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D054813:Polyhydroxyalkanoates / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D020155:3-Hydroxybutyric Acid; D003437:Crotonates; D010421:Pentanoic Acids; D054813:Polyhydroxyalkanoates; D062065:Wastewater; C013056:beta-hydroxyvaleric acid
keywords: Biobased monomer; Downstream processing; Fermentation residues; Methyl crotonate; Polyhydroxyalkanoate