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Processes
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Production, Extraction, Analysis and Degradation of Bioplastics
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Production, Extraction, Analysis and Degradation of Bioplastics

A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Separation Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 July 2023) | Viewed by 9941

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Young-Cheol Chang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Course of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Division of Sustainable and Environmental Engineering, Muroran Institute of Technology, Hokkaido 050-8585, Japan
Interests: applied microorganisms; bioplastic production using biomass and toxic compounds; biodegradation of toxic compounds and bioplastics; bioremediation; health-functional substance production; medium-chain fatty acids’ production
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Venkateswer Reddy Motakatla

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY 12180, USA
Interests: bioenergy; fermentation; biopolymers; biofuels
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biomass has been attracting attention for its use in energy production. Recently, its effective utilization has become expected to prevent global warming and establish a recycling-oriented society. Bioplastic production from renewable sources has been considered as one of the most effective means of utilizing biomass. In particular, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), which represent biodegradable plastics, are resource-recycling materials produced by biological processes using biomass as a raw material. However, the popularization of PHA has been limited by production cost, which remains relatively high, with raw materials responsible for most of the price. Therefore, to make PHA production more feasible for industrial application, different inexpensive substrates such as cheese whey, molasses, sugars, oils, fatty acids, glycerol, organic matter from waste, starch-based materials, cellulosic materials, and hemicellulosic materials have been tested. However, it is essential to improve productivity and to develop effective PHA extraction methods in order to use bioplastics to replace plastics. Fortunately, the improvement of productivity using gene recombination technology has been very successful. PHA can be biodegradable, but it may become an environmental burden if its widespread use causes it to leak into the environment. Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of bioplastic degradation is an urgent requirement. The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide cutting-edge information on the production, extraction, and degradation of PHA.

This Special Issue on “Production, Extraction, Analysis, and Degradation of Bioplastics” seeks high-quality works focusing on novel technologies related to bioplastics. Topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Synthetic plastics’ degradation;
  • Bioplastic production using biomass;
  • Bioplastic extraction methods from cells;
  • Development of analysis methods for bioplastics;
  • Bioplastic production enhancement using genetic engineering;
  • Industrial production of bioplastics;
  • Applications of bioplastics;
  • Degradation of bioplastics.

Prof. Dr. Young-Cheol Chang
Dr. Venkateswer Reddy Motakatla
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • PHA
  • biomass
  • bacteria
  • cyanobacteria
  • bioplastics
  • PHB
  • Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate)
  • biodegradation
  • recovery of bioplastic
  • analysis
  • plastic waste

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 1336 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Properties of Polyhydroxyalkanoates on Waste Fish Oil from the Production of Canned Sprats
by Natalia O. Zhila, Kristina Yu. Sapozhnikova, Evgeniy G. Kiselev, Ekaterina I. Shishatskaya and Tatiana G. Volova
Processes 2023, 11(7), 2113; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr11072113 - 15 Jul 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1391
Abstract
The waste fish oil obtained from Baltic sprat waste in the production of canned sprats was studied as a sole carbon substrate for PHA synthesis by the wild-type strain Cupriavidus necator B-10646. Sprat oil contained a set of fatty acids with a chain [...] Read more.
The waste fish oil obtained from Baltic sprat waste in the production of canned sprats was studied as a sole carbon substrate for PHA synthesis by the wild-type strain Cupriavidus necator B-10646. Sprat oil contained a set of fatty acids with a chain length from C14 to C24, saturation factor 0.63, and provided bacterial growth and PHA synthesis. Bacteria metabolized fatty acids unevenly utilizing polyenoic acids and not using monoenoic and saturated acids. The bacterial biomass yield and the intracellular polymer concentration were 6.5 ± 0.5 g/L and 65 ± 5% by fed-batch culture in flasks. The synthesized PHAs were three-component copolymers with a predominance (97–98 mol.%) of 3-hydroxybutyrate monomers and small inclusions of 3-hydroxyvalerate and 3-hydroxyhexanoate; the ratio of monomers changed slightly depending on the sprat oil concentration. The series of samples had a temperature (Tmelt) of 158–165 °C, a molecular weight (Mw) of 540–760 kDa, and a degree of crystallinity (Cx) of 66–72%. For the first time, the waste fish oil from the production of sprats studied as a carbon substrate is a promising, affordable, and renewable substrate for PHA biosynthesis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Production, Extraction, Analysis and Degradation of Bioplastics)
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12 pages, 2390 KiB  
Article
Thermal and Crystallization Properties of a Polyhydroxyalkanoate Binary Copolymer Containing 3-Hydroxybutyrate and 3-Hydroxy-2-Methylvalerate Units
by Yuki Miyahara, Tomoya Nakamura, Maierwufu Mierzati, Zihan Qie, Tomoki Shibasaka, Christopher T. Nomura, Seiichi Taguchi, Hideki Abe and Takeharu Tsuge
Processes 2023, 11(7), 1901; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr11071901 - 24 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1476
Abstract
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are aliphatic polyesters synthesized intracellularly by microorganisms as a carbon-storage substance. Among the various PHAs, 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB)-based copolymers are crystalline polymers widely used as biodegradable plastics. Recently, PHAs containing α-carbon-methylated monomers, such as 3-hydroxy-2-methylbutyrate (3H2MB) and 3-hydroxy-2-methylvalerate (3H2MV), have been synthesized [...] Read more.
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are aliphatic polyesters synthesized intracellularly by microorganisms as a carbon-storage substance. Among the various PHAs, 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB)-based copolymers are crystalline polymers widely used as biodegradable plastics. Recently, PHAs containing α-carbon-methylated monomers, such as 3-hydroxy-2-methylbutyrate (3H2MB) and 3-hydroxy-2-methylvalerate (3H2MV), have been synthesized and characterized. However, a binary copolymer of 3HB and 3H2MV, P(3HB-co-3H2MV), had not yet been synthesized, and its material properties had not been investigated. In this study, P(3HB-co-11 mol% 3H2MV) (PHBMV11) was synthesized with recombinant Escherichia coli LSBJ, using trans-2-methyl-2-pentenoic acid as the 3H2MV precursor. The thermal properties of PHBMV11 were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and the results were compared with those of P(3HB-co-12 mol% 3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV12) to explore the effect of α-carbon methylation in the comonomer unit. PHBMV11 exhibited a higher enthalpy of fusion during the DSC heating process and higher crystallization temperature during the DSC cooling process than those of PHBV12. The half-crystallization time of PHBMV11 was slightly longer than that of the P(3HB) homopolymer and much shorter than that of PHBV12 previously reported. The α-carbon methylation of the 3H2MV unit also has a positive effect on the crystallization of 3HB-based copolymers, as the 3H2MB unit demonstrated previously. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Production, Extraction, Analysis and Degradation of Bioplastics)
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17 pages, 1244 KiB  
Article
Biosynthesis of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) from Different 4-Hydroxybutyrate Precursors by New Wild-Type Strain Cupriavidus necator IBP/SFU-1
by Natalia O. Zhila, Kristina Yu. Sapozhnikova, Evgeniy G. Kiselev, Ekaterina I. Shishatskaya and Tatiana G. Volova
Processes 2023, 11(5), 1423; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr11051423 - 08 May 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1374
Abstract
The study addresses the growth of the new wild-type strain Cupriavidus necator IBP/SFU-1 and the synthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB-co-4HB) on media containing fructose and three different precursors of 4HB (ε-caprolactone 1,4-butanediol and 1,6-hexanediol). It was found that ε-caprolactone is [...] Read more.
The study addresses the growth of the new wild-type strain Cupriavidus necator IBP/SFU-1 and the synthesis of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB-co-4HB) on media containing fructose and three different precursors of 4HB (ε-caprolactone 1,4-butanediol and 1,6-hexanediol). It was found that ε-caprolactone is the best precursor for the synthesis of P(3HB-co-4HB) copolymers. By varying the concentration and number of doses of ε-caprolactone added into the bacterial culture, it was possible to find conditions that ensured the synthesis of P(3HB-co-4HB) copolymers with different contents of 4HB (from 3–5 to 22.4 mol.%). The physicochemical properties of the copolymers were investigated depending on the proportions of 4HB monomers. The effect of 4HB monomers was manifested in a certain decrease in the weight-average molecular weight (Mw) (272–353 kDa), number-average molecular weight (Mn) (47–67 kDa) of the samples, and an increase in polydispersity (5.09–6.71) compared with P(3HB). The crystallinity degree decreased with an increasing fraction of the 4HB units (from 72 to 59%, as the 4HB content increased from 0 to 22.4 mol.%). In addition, the increase in 4HB content affected the temperature parameters (melting point, glass transition temperature, crystallization temperature, and thermal degradation temperature). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Production, Extraction, Analysis and Degradation of Bioplastics)
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20 pages, 2898 KiB  
Article
Optimization of Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from Newly Isolated Ensifer sp. Strain HD34 by Response Surface Methodology
by Thitichaya Khamkong, Watsana Penkhrue and Saisamorn Lumyong
Processes 2022, 10(8), 1632; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/pr10081632 - 17 Aug 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4913
Abstract
Petroleum-based plastics have become a big problem in many countries because of their non-degradability and that they become microplastics in the environment. This study focused on the optimization of production medium and conditions of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), which are biodegradable bioplastics and are accumulated [...] Read more.
Petroleum-based plastics have become a big problem in many countries because of their non-degradability and that they become microplastics in the environment. This study focused on the optimization of production medium and conditions of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), which are biodegradable bioplastics and are accumulated in microbial cells. Among 341 isolates from 40 composted soil samples, the best isolate was the HD34 strain, which was identified using morphological, molecular, and biochemical methods. The results showed that the strain was most closely related to Ensifer adhaerens LMG20216T, with 99.6% similarity. For optimization of production medium and conditions using response surface methodology, it exhibited an optimal medium containing 3.99% (w/v) of potato dextrose broth (PDB) and 1.54% (w/v) of D-glucose with an adjusted initial pH of 9.0. The optimum production was achieved under culture conditions of a temperature of 28 °C, inoculum size of 2.5% (v/v), and a shaking speed of 130 rpm for 5 days. The results showed the highest PHA content, total cell dry weight, and PHA yield as 72.96% (w/w) of cell dry weight, 9.30 g/L, and 6.78 g/L, respectively. The extracted PHA characterization was studied using gas chromatography, 1H NMR, FTIR, and XRD. The results found that the polymer was a polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) with a melting temperature (Tm) and degradation temperature (Td) of 173.5 °C and 260.8 °C, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Production, Extraction, Analysis and Degradation of Bioplastics)
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