Feasibility study of polyhydroxyalkanote production for materials recycling using naturally occurring pollutant degraders

For eco-friendly recycling and reuses of biomaterials with sustainability, this feasibility study tended to use indigenous pollutant degrading bacteria for the production of biodegradable polymers – polyhydroxyalkanotes (PHAs) during wastewater treatment. First, feasible PHA-producing strains were qualitatively screened among pollutant-degrading microbes via Sudan black B staining (SB staining). Next, according to batch cultures using lauric acid as sole carbon source, the promising PHA-generating strains were obtained via comparative analysis upon the characteristics of cell growth and poly 3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) production. Aeromonas hydrophila NIU01, YTl1, KB23 and A. salmonicida 741 were found to generate intracellular PHA content at higher levels of 19.35, 24.48, 22.52%, respectively. Plus, Klebsiella pneumoniae ZMd31, Pseudomonas plecoglossicida NIU-Y3 and Chromobacterium violaceum P1 produced lower PHA contents at 18.25, 5.37 and 4.17%, respectively.

► Explore feasible pollutant-degrading bacteria for biopolymer production.
► Disclose economically viable method for probing PHA-producing microbes.
► Unveil cradle-to-cradle strategy for materials recycling and wastewater treatment.