Volume: 1, 2022
1st International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: E012
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL1.E012
Published online: 26 April 2022
ICDSUPL, 1, E012 (2022)
Reuse of nutrients from wastewater for the production of bioplastics with cyanobacteria
Estel Rueda Hernández1*, Joan Garcia1
1 Department of Civil Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Av. Eduard Maristany 16, E-08019, Barcelona, Spain
* Corresponding author: estel.rueda@upc.edu
Abstract
The accumulation of non-biodegradable plastics has become a global environmental problem. Approximately 60% of the plastics produced worldwide are disposed in landfills or natural ecosystems. In fact, it is estimated that around 500,000 tons of plastics currently accumulate in the oceans. Bioplastics, and especially polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), have emerged as an alternative to petroleum-derived plastics, as they can be produced and degraded biologically, are biocompatible, and have properties similar to those of conventional plastics. PHB is produced by a wide variety of prokaryotic microorganisms as energy and carbon storage. Cyanobacteria (photosynthetic bacteria or blue-green algae) are one of the most interesting PHB producers, as they can produce these polymers using only sunlight and CO2. In addition, they have the ability to eliminate and grow using the nutrients (mainly N and P) from the wastewater. The use of these residual effluents makes it possible to drastically reduce production costs, as well as the environmental impact of the process. However, PHB production with cyanobacteria still presents some challenges, such as low native PHB content of cyanobacteria, low productivity or high production costs. For this reason, new approaches that improve accumulation yields and optimize the production process must be investigated. As well as looking for alternative nutrient sources and strategies that allow the production of PHB within the biorefinery concept, with the aim of achieving a more competitive production process. In this work, the different strategies that have been developed in recent years to optimize the production of PHB with cyanobacteria are reviewed, emphasizing the possibilities and perspectives that different waste effluents present in the production of bioplastics with cyanobacteria.
How to cite
E. Rueda Hernández, J. Garcia, 2022. Reuse of nutrients from wastewater for the production of bioplastics with cyanobacteria. In: 1st International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL1/E012