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Revalorization of adsorbed residual oil in spent bleaching clay as a sole carbon source for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulation in Cupriavidus necator Re2058/pCB113

Polymer Journal volume 53, pages 169–178 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Spent bleaching clay (SBC) containing ~33 wt% adsorbed residual oil from the refining of palm oil in the milling industry was evaluated for use as a sole carbon source for poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) [P(3HB-co-3HHx)] production by the recombinant strain Cupriavidus necator Re2058/pCB113. The biosynthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) was conducted in a one-stage cultivation process using shaken flasks. Palm olein and the extracted oil from SBC were used for comparison with the adsorbed residual oil (ARO) in SBC to evaluate the efficiency of the latter as a carbon source. The ARO in SBC can be utilized by the bacterium for the growth and accumulation of PHA. Cell growth and PHA accumulation were observed to be the best when 20 g/L ARO was supplied as a carbon source, resulting in the production of 11.8 g/L dry cell weight containing 39.8 wt% P(3HB-co-15 mol% 3HHx). The biomass yield showed that ARO in SBC is a suitable carbon feedstock for this strain. Thus, these results suggest that ARO in SBC, an inexpensive carbon source, can be used to produce low-cost commercialized PHA in bulk.

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Acknowledgements

The C. necator Re2058/pCB113 strain used in this study was kindly provided by Prof. Anthony Sinskey of MIT. This study was supported by a grant from the Ministry of Education of Malaysia (203/PBIOLOGI/67811001) titled “Soil Analysis and Value-Addition to Oil Palm Trunk (OPT) and Sap Through Biotechnology,” as well as the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS). NHMH thanks the graduate assistant scheme provided by Universiti Sains Malaysia for financial support. The authors would also like to thank KL-Kepong Oleomas Sdn. Bhd. for supplying SBC and Dr. Chuah Jo-Ann for English editing.

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  1. Ecobiomaterial Research Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Minden, Penang, Malaysia

    Nabila Husna Bt Mohamad Hairudin & Kumar Sudesh

  2. School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Minden, Penang, Malaysia

    Shangeetha Ganesan

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  1. Nabila Husna Bt Mohamad Hairudin
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Correspondence to Kumar Sudesh.

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Hairudin, N.H.B.M., Ganesan, S. & Sudesh, K. Revalorization of adsorbed residual oil in spent bleaching clay as a sole carbon source for polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulation in Cupriavidus necator Re2058/pCB113. Polym J 53, 169–178 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41428-020-00418-2

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