IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i14p8241-d856678.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From Organic Wastes and Hydrocarbons Pollutants to Polyhydroxyalkanoates: Bioconversion by Terrestrial and Marine Bacteria

Author

Listed:
  • Francesca Crisafi

    (National Research Council, Institute of Polar Sciences (ISP–CNR), Spianata San Raineri, 86, 98122 Messina, Italy)

  • Francesco Valentino

    (Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, Cà Foscari University of Venice, Via Torino 155, 30170 Mestre-Venice, Italy)

  • Federico Micolucci

    (Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 463, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
    Swedish Mariculture Research Center (SWEMARC), University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 463, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden)

  • Renata Denaro

    (Water Research Institute (IRSA), National Research Council (CNR), Via Salaria km 29.300, Monterotondo, 00015 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

The use of fossil-based plastics has become unsustainable because of the polluting production processes, difficulties for waste management sectors, and high environmental impact. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are bio-based biodegradable polymers derived from renewable resources and synthesized by bacteria as intracellular energy and carbon storage materials under nutrients or oxygen limitation and through the optimization of cultivation conditions with both pure and mixed culture systems. The PHA properties are affected by the same principles of oil-derived polyolefins, with a broad range of compositions, due to the incorporation of different monomers into the polymer matrix. As a consequence, the properties of such materials are represented by a broad range depending on tunable PHA composition. Producing waste-derived PHA is technically feasible with mixed microbial cultures (MMC), since no sterilization is required; this technology may represent a solution for waste treatment and valorization, and it has recently been developed at the pilot scale level with different process configurations where aerobic microorganisms are usually subjected to a dynamic feeding regime for their selection and to a high organic load for the intracellular accumulation of PHA. In this review, we report on studies on terrestrial and marine bacteria PHA-producers. The available knowledge on PHA production from the use of different kinds of organic wastes, and otherwise, petroleum-polluted natural matrices coupling bioremediation treatment has been explored. The advancements in these areas have been significant; they generally concern the terrestrial environment, where pilot and industrial processes are already established. Recently, marine bacteria have also offered interesting perspectives due to their advantageous effects on production practices, which they can relieve several constraints. Studies on the use of hydrocarbons as carbon sources offer evidence for the feasibility of the bioconversion of fossil-derived plastics into bioplastics.

Suggested Citation

  • Francesca Crisafi & Francesco Valentino & Federico Micolucci & Renata Denaro, 2022. "From Organic Wastes and Hydrocarbons Pollutants to Polyhydroxyalkanoates: Bioconversion by Terrestrial and Marine Bacteria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-29, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:14:p:8241-:d:856678
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/14/8241/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/14/8241/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tim Patterson & Jaime Massanet‐Nicolau & Rhys Jones & Alessio Boldrin & Francesco Valentino & Richard Dinsdale & Alan Guwy, 2021. "Utilizing grass for the biological production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) via green biorefining: Material and energy flows," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 25(3), pages 802-815, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rajeev Ravindran & Kwame Donkor & Lalitha Gottumukkala & Abhay Menon & Amita Jacob Guneratnam & Helena McMahon & Sybrandus Koopmans & Johan P. M. Sanders & James Gaffey, 2022. "Biogas, Biomethane and Digestate Potential of By-Products from Green Biorefinery Systems," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-16, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:14:p:8241-:d:856678. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.