Use of Biodiesel Waste Glycerol in the Bacterial Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Biodegradable Plastic Daniel Nicholson Graduate Student, Department.

Use of Biodiesel Waste Glycerol in the Bacterial Production of

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Biodegradable Plastic

Daniel Nicholson Graduate Student, Department of Paper &

Bioprocess Engineering

ESF Biodiesel Production Program

The current US biodiesel production capacity is nearing 1 billion gal per year. The co-product stream of waste glycerol could surpass 100 million gal per year

in the near future, and many possible uses for this essentially free raw material are under investigation.

Biodiesel is produced on the SUNY ESF campusfrom waste fryer oil from SU food services, for use in college vehicles and equipment .

O

O

O

OO

O

CH2

CH

CH2

O

OCH33

Triglyceride

Transesterification90% Biodiesel

Fatty acid methyl ester10%

Glycerol

+

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Chemistry

HC

H2C C O

HC

H2C C O

CH3

O O

CH2CH3

HC

H2C C O

O

Rm n

hydroxybutyrate (HB) hydroxyvalerate (HV)

R = CH3: Hydroxybutyrate (HB)R = CH2CH3: Hydroxyvalerate (HV)R = 3-6 Carbon side chain: Medium chain length (mcl) PHAs with more elastomeric properties.

Increased side chain (R) length imparts flexibility to the polymer.

Microbiologically produced poly-3-hydroxyalkanoate (PHA) polymers are a well known biodegradable material with physical characteristics comparable to some commercially

available plastics like polypropylene and polyethylene.

PHA Biodegradability

Biodegradability studies have shown that many bacteria and fungi excrete PHA degrading enzymes in soil, sludge, fresh and sea water. These enzymes hydrolyze solid PHA into water-soluble oligomers and monomers, and use the resulting products as nutrients within their cells.

Jendrossek, D. 2001. Adv. Biochem Eng Biotechnol. 71. 294-325

Weeks in sewage sludge 0 2 4 6 8

PHA Production Life Cycle

Bacterial PHA Production

Consumes a number of foods, and stores extra in granules.

Benchtop bioreactors can be used to carefully control growth, and to observe product formation and food

consumption.

Burkholderia cepacia is a bacteria common in soil and water. This organism is being used in research at

SUNY ESF, and has been shown to produce PHAsfrom different food sources.

PHA is the material stored toconserve energy and Carbon for

future use.

Biotechnology @ ESF

•Current projects•Metabolic and protein engineering for the production of biodegradable plastics•Microbial biodiesel production•Engineering of cellulase enzymes

•Looking for graduate student applicants with strong backgrounds in:•Biochemistry•Molecular Biology•Microbiology•Synthetic organic chemistry

For more information you can email Dr. [email protected]

Lab webpage: http://www.esf.edu/chemistry/nomura/lab/