Alkali pretreated sugarcane tops hydrolysate for the production of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate by Comomonas sp.- A dairy effluent isolate

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability of Comomonas sp., isolated from dairy effluent, to accumulate poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PUB) using biomass hydrolysate generated from alkali pretreated sugarcane tops as the sole carbon source. The hydrolysate obtained after enzymatic saccharification contained sugars and was devoid of sugar degradation products, such as, furfural, 5-hydroxymethyl furfural, acetic acid, formic acid and propionic acid. The bacterium grew in the hydrolysate medium without any detoxification and accumulated 55.85% PHB with a productivity of 0.195 g/L. The characterization of the extracted polymer was carried out by C-13 and H-1 NMR, which showed properties similar to that of standard PHB.