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Effect of Feeding Strategies and Inoculums Applied on Two-Stage Biosynthesis of Polyhydroxyalkanoates from Palm Oil Mill Effluent

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Abstract

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is a biodegradable polyoxoester, which is synthesized as carbon and energy storage by various bacteria from different substrates used. Palm oil mill effluent (POME) has been redefined as a secondary raw material for PHA production. POME is bioconverted to volatile fatty acids (VFA) via anaerobic acidogenic fermentation, and VFA is utilized to synthesis PHA aerobically. A pH of 7.0 is the optimal condition to produce the highest VFA concentration with the lowest strength of formic acid. A mixed culture of aerobic activated sludge facilitates higher PHA production yield than a pure Bacillus megaterium culture. The feast–famine (FF) feeding strategy can also generate higher PHA yield compared with batch operation. Hence, the highest PHA yield of 0.2559 ± 0.0896 g PHA/g TVFA from POME is achieved by the cultivation of aerobic activated sludge under FF regime. The PHA production can be lowered by presence of formic acid and sludge biomass residue in the fermented POME.

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Acknowledgements

Appreciation is also extended to the Makmal Berpusat i-CRIM of UKM for providing the fabrication and measurement facilities needed for this research.

Funding

This research was funded by the Government of Malaysia and UKM (Grant GUP-2017-102).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Ming Foong Tiang, Darman Nordin & Peer Mohamed Abdul

  2. Research Centre for Sustainable Process Technology (CESPRO), Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Darman Nordin & Peer Mohamed Abdul

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  1. Ming Foong Tiang
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  2. Darman Nordin
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  3. Peer Mohamed Abdul
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Conceptualization: [MFT, DN]; formal analysis: [MFT]; funding acquisition: [DN]; methodology: [MFT, PMA]; project administration: [MFT]; resources: [MFT, DN, PMA]; visualization: [MFT]; Writing—original draft preparation: [MFT]; Writing—review and editing: [MFT, DN, PMA].

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Correspondence to Darman Nordin.

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Tiang, M.F., Nordin, D. & Abdul, P.M. Effect of Feeding Strategies and Inoculums Applied on Two-Stage Biosynthesis of Polyhydroxyalkanoates from Palm Oil Mill Effluent. J Polym Environ 28, 1934–1943 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-020-01743-6

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