Impact of non-storing biomass on PHA production: An enrichment culture on acetate and methanol

Abstract

The use of enrichment cultures for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) production from substrate mixtures such as wastewater inevitably results in the establishment of a non-PHA-storing population besides the PHA-producing bacteria. This reduces the maximum PHA content that can be established, and increases downstream-processing costs. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of non-storing biomass on the PHA production process. A microbial culture was enriched in a sequencing batch reactor fed with acetate and methanol. Methanol served as model substrate for compounds unsuitable for PHA production. The enrichment was dominated by Plasticicumulans acidivorans, a known PHA producer, and Methylobacillus flagellatus, an obligate methylotroph that cannot store PHA. As expected, the presence of the non-storing population lowered the maximum PHA content of the culture, from more than 80 to 66wt.%. To mimic a nitrogen-rich waste stream, additional accumulation experiments were performed with continuous supply of carbon and ammonium. In these experiments P. acidivorans still accumulated large amounts of PHA, but unrestricted growth of the non-storing, methylotrophic population reduced the maximum overall PHA content to 52wt.%. Besides ammonium limitation, other strategies to restrict the fraction of non-storing biomass should be developed. The mixture of acetate and methanol is a useful model substrate for the development of such strategies.