Microbial Community Dynamics during Bioplastic Fermentation in Continuous Reactors
Microbial fermentations were conducted using two reactor configurations: a continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) and a continuous gas-lift bioreactor (hereafter referred to as ?Jeff?). In the CSTR, hydrolyzed polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and polylactic acid (PLA) were employed as substrates, whereas solid bioplastics were utilized in Jeff. Both reactors were inoculated with mixed microbial communities originating from cow rumen liquid, as well as from ethanol-, lactate-, and glucose-based fermentation effluents. The operational parameters were standardized across systems, with fermentations maintained at 35 ?C and pH 5.9. Microbial samples were collected at multiple time points from each reactor to monitor community dynamics.