Optimization PHAs production from dairy industry waste water (cheese whey) by Cupriavidus necator

Cheese whey, a by-product of the dairy industry, is mainly regarded as a pollutant due to its high biological oxygen demand and its disposal is being managed at considerable cost. It can be considered as an attractive raw material towards cost effective production of poly hydroxyalkanoats.In present research we used Whey as substrate which was hydrolyzed to cleave its main carbon source, lactose, to glucose and galactose.The hydrolysis products were chosen as carbon sources for the production of poly-3-hydroxybutyric acid (PHB) by Cupriavidus necator. The biosynthesis of PHA copolyesters containing 3-hydroxybutyrate (3HB) and 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) units from hydrolyzed whey permeate and valerate was investigated. The application of hydrolyzed whey permeate turned out to be advantageous compared with the utilization of pure sugars. Therefore, fermentation under controlled conditions (250 rpm shaking rate, 24 hr for inoculum age, 72hr fermentation time and temperature at 30°c ) was performed and as a result , maximum polymer concentration, was1.73 g/l.

Keywords:

Cupriavidus Necator DSM 545 , Cheese Whey , 3-Hydroxybutyrate (3HB) , 3-Hydroxyvalerate (3HV)