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CHEMICAL ENGINEERING TRANSACTIONS

VOL. 49, 2016

A publication of

The Italian Association
of Chemical Engineering
Online at www.aidic.it/cet

Guest Editors: Enrico Bardone, Marco Bravi, Tajalli Keshavarz
Copyright © 2016, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.,
ISBN 978-88-95608-40-2; ISSN 2283-9216

PHB-Rich Biomass and BioH2 Production by Means of
Photosynthetic Microorganisms

Giulia Padovani*a, Pietro Carlozzia, Maurizia Seggianib, Patrizia Cinellib,c, Sandra
Vitolob, Andrea Lazzerib
a Institute of Ecosystem Study, CNR, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019 Florence, Italy
b Dept. of Civil and Industrial Engineering, University of Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino 1, 56122 Pisa, Italy
c Institute for Chemical and Physical Processes, CNR, Via G. Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy
g.padovani@ise.cnr.it

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a family of biopolyesters produced by many bacteria as intracellular
storage carbon and energy source. Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is probably the most common type of PHA.
It is biodegradable and renewable, with relevant thermoplastic properties along with adjustable thermal and
mechanical properties. The thermoplastic properties of PHB and its biodegradability make it a potential
alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Several microorganisms growing in the dark and/or in the light
produce PHB. The polymer is mainly accumulated in the cytoplasm of cells when microorganisms are growing
under conditions of stress. If purple non-sulfur photosynthetic bacteria (PNSB) are grown under nitrogen
starvation conditions, a photoevolution of molecular hydrogen occurs as well. The PHB amount increases
when carbon and energy sources are in excess, but the growth is limited, for example, by the lack of a
nitrogen, phosphorous or sulfur source. This work deals the possibility of producing PHAs by photosynthetic
microorganisms belonging to cyanobacteria and PNSB. Different culture broths, with and without organic
carbon sources, were investigated to maximize PHA production by photosynthetic microorganisms. An
unbalanced agro-industrial wastewater has been also investigated in the present study. It concerns the olive
mill wastewater (OMW) containing significant reusable carbon fractions suitable for an eco-efficient
valorization by feeding photosynthetic processes. The maximum PHA concentration in a cyanobacterium dry-
biomass was 317 mg/L, when growing cells in a medium with a low content of acetic acid (LAC). In PNSB dry-
biomass the maximum PHB content was 215 mg/L, when growing PNSB in a synthetic medium. A
simultaneous H2 co-production (1,295 mL/L of culture) was cumulated as well, at the end of the process.

1. Introduction
PHB is a storage compound typically produced by prokaryotic organisms; it was discovered for the first time in
1920 by Maurice Lemoigne. The properties of this compound (e.g. thermoplastic process ability and complete
biodegradability even in a marine environment) suggest that it can be an attractive alternative to common
plastics. Bioplastics are still prohibitively expensive for many of the current applications and their production is
often based on the use of sources (starch and glucose) in competition with the food sector. On the other hand,
the non-biodegradable plastics accumulate in the environment at a rate of 25 million tons per year (Balaji et
al., 2013) and today they are one of the most widely used materials. Thus, over the next few years, the use of
biodegradable plastics will surely increase in order to substitute conventional plastics and thus reduce the
environmental impact of these materials. Research correlated with the production of PHAs is now focusing on
the improvement and consistency of properties of these biopolymers in order to make their exploitation and
industrialization easier with the goal of producing PHAs at competitive costs. PHA has not to be compared
only to biodegradable polymers on the market, but also to non-biodegradable plastics. Cyanobacteria,
together with bacteria, can be considered host polymer cell-factories for the production of PHA. Some
cyanobacterial strains are able to accumulate this polymer even in photoautotrophic conditions (Balaji et al.,
2013; Carpine et al., 2015), without organic carbon-sources. Cyanobacteria can also grow in different kind of
wastes: textile effluent, dairy wastes, paper mill wastes, etc. Saharan et al. (2014) reported a PHB content up

DOI: 10.3303/CET1649010

Please cite this article as: Padovani G., Carlozzi P., Seggiani M., Cinelli P., Vitolo S., Lazzeri A., 2016, Phb-rich biomass and bioh2 production
by means of photosynthetic microorganisms, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 49, 55-60 DOI: 10.3303/CET1649010

to 55% of cellular dry weight for a cyanobacterium as Synechococcus sp. MA19. Many PNSB, like
Rhodobacter sphaeroides, Rhodopseudomonas palustris and Rhodospirillum rubrum, are able to co-produce
PHA and H2 under nutrient-limited conditions. These two metabolic pathways are in competition, but the
combined production of H2 and PHB would be a major advantage for the environment since it would be
possible to use solar energy bioconversion to obtain alternative sources of energy and recyclable plastics
(Khatipov et al., 1998).
The present study represents a joint preliminary investigation between the National Research Council and the
University of Pisa about the possibility to obtain bioplastics from cyanobacteria or PNSB, by setting up a
suitable and eco-sustainable process.

2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Microorganisms and culture conditions
In the present work, cyanobacteria and PNSB were investigated, both belonging to the culture collection of the
Institute of Ecosystem Study of National Research Council (ISE-CNR), Florence, Italy. Cyanobacteria were
grown in a modified BG11: the concentration of K, Ca and Mg salts was doubled while the other salts were
kept at standard concentrations. Increasing quantities of acetic acid from 0 to 8 g/L were added, when
needed, to induce PHB accumulation in the cultures. These experiments were carried out under either a
continuous light intensity of 150 µE/m2/s on both sides of the reactor or under a light:dark cycle - 15:9 h
irradiating only one side of the reactor. The cultures were mixed by means of an air flow mixture (98% air and
2% of CO2) that made it possible to maintain the pH value within a range of 7.0 to 7.8. PNSB were grown
using two different synthetic media: (i) a modified van Niel medium (synthetic growth medium, SGM) with the
following composition (1.0 L): 4 g butyric acid; 0.5 g NH4Cl; 1 g KH2PO4; 0.4 g NaCl; 0.05 g CaCl2 ˖2H2O; 0.4
g MgSO4˖7H2O; 0.1 g para-aminobenzoic acid; 10 mL of trace element solution (per 1 L of deionized water: 30
mg H3BO3; 3 mg MnCl2˖4H2O; 500 mg Na2MoO4˖2H2O; 10 mg ZnSO4˖7H2O; 1 mg CuCl2˖2H2O; 2 mg
NiCl2˖6H2O; 24.5 mg CoNO3˖6H2O); pH adjusted to 6.8; (ii) a modified van Niel medium for hydrogen
production (synthetic medium for hydrogen, SHM) that has the same composition as the previous medium
except for NH4Cl that is substituted by Na-glutamate 1.0 g/L. An effluent originated from a pretreatment of
olive mill wastewater (OMWeff) was also tested according to Carlozzi et al., 2015. This effluent was diluted with
sterile deionized water and used for producing both H2 and PHB-rich biomass. A 150-W OSRAM power-star
HQI-TS lamp was used to expose the culture to a continuous irradiance of 74 W/m2 on one side of the PBR.
All experiments were carried out at 30 ± 0.2 °C.

2.2. Photobioreactors
Cyanobacteria were grown in a flat glass photobioreactor (FGPBR) previously described in Vaičiulytė et al.,
2014. The FGPBR had an internal glass tube (Øint = 10 mm) equipped with an air stone sparger. Compressed
air and CO2 flowed inside the inner tube to mix the cyanobacterial culture and to control the culture pH. The
FGPBR was equipped with three probes for the continuous control of culture parameters such as temperature,
pH and dissolved oxygen concentration. The probes were connected to a control unit (Chemitec srl, Florence,
Italy). PNSB were grown in a cylindrical glass photobioreactor (Øin= 4.0 cm). The culture was mixed by using a
magnetic stirrer. The growth parameters (temperature and pH) were monitored using probes connected to a
control unit (Chemitec srl, Florence, Italy). The details about the schematic diagram of the cylindrical
photobioreactor used for the investigation can be found elsewhere: Carlozzi, 2012. The hydrogen generated
by bacterial cells flowed into a CO2-absorber solution (saline solution of NaOH), and it was then trapped in a
calibrated column, where it was collected and the volume was measured to calculate the hydrogen production.
The calibrated column was refilled with the saline solution of NaOH every 24 h.

2.3. Analytical Methods
The optical density of the cyanobacterial culture was determined at 730 nm using a spectrophotometer Cary
50 (Agilent Technologies Inc., Santa Clara, CA, USA). With the same spectrophotometer, the
bacteriochlorophyll (Bchl) was also measured, according to Carlozzi et al., 2006; as well as the amount of
volatile fatty acids (VFAs) of the OMWeff at 530 nm (Mato et al., 2005). The COD amount was determined
according to Ena et al., 2007. The acetic acid concentration was evaluated according to Carlozzi and
Lambardi, 2009. Approximately 6 mg of lyophilized dry biomass was analyzed for PHB content by HPLC
following acid digestion to crotonic acid by boiling cells in 1 mL of pure sulfuric acid in screw-cap glass test
tubes for 30 min. Extracts were appropriately diluted with water, filtered and injected into the HPLC for
analysis (Thermo Finnigan-Spectra System 6000 LP). Crotonic acid was eluted from a Synergy-Hydro-RP C-
18 column (250 x 4.6 mm id.). A mobile phase comprising 15% (v/v) acetonitrile in 0.1 % (v/v) H3PO4 in
aqueous solution was employed at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. The compound was detected at 214 nm. Peak
areas were compared to a calibration curve realized with commercial PHB (Biomer). All analyses were carried

out in triplicate. The light intensity was measured with the use of a Quantum/Radiometer/Photometer (model
LI-185B, Li-COR, Lincoln, NE, USA).

3. Results
3.1 PHB accumulation in cyanobacterial cells
A cyanobacterium belonging to the order of Chroococcales owned by the ISE-CNR was cultivated first in basic
BG11 medium (Rippka et al., 1979) to test its capacity to accumulate polyhydroxyalcanoates. The
investigation was carried out applying a light/dark cycle of 15/9 hours. The growth, determined as optical
density at 730 nm (OD730nm), is shown in Figure 1-a. The cumulative amount of PHB is reported in Figure 1-b.
The addition of acetic acid, represented in the figure by arrows, started at t210. As can be noted, no PHB
accumulation occurs when cultivating the cyanobacteria in basic BG11 medium (autotrophically) with a
light:dark cycle. In fact, from the start of the experiment to t210 the concentration of PHB in the culture swung
from 0.10 to 0.20 mg/L. When the culture started to grow mixotrophycally, i.e. in the presence of organic and
inorganic carbon sources, PHB rapidly increased, reaching the concentration of 82.14 mg/L and an OD730nm of
almost 5 (Fig. 1a and b). Further studies on polymer accumulation were carried out by growing cyanobacteria
at both high acetate concentration (HAC) and at low acetate concentration (LAC).

Figure 1: OD at 730 nm (a) and PHB accumulation (b) in cyanobacterial species applying a light/dark cycle of
15/9 hours; dark (grey bars). Arrows indicate the acetic acid additions. Symbols represent the mean values of
three replications ± SD.

Figure 2: OD at 730 nm (a) and PHB accumulation (b) in cyanobacterial species in HAC and LAC conditions.
Arrows indicate the acetic acid additions. Symbols represent the mean values of three replications ± SD.

The results are shown in Figure 2. The cyanobacterial growth was evaluated by measuring the optical density
(OD730nm): the maximum OD was 7.2 at HAC and 5.8 at LAC (Figure 2-a). This behaviour was completely
inverted when looking at the cumulative PHB in the cultures. In fact, at HAC about 130 mg/L of PHB were
reached, whereas at LAC the accumulation of PHB boosted as high as 317 mg/L (Figure 2-b).

3.2. PHB accumulation in purple-non sulfur bacteria
A selected PNSB belonging to the genus Rhodopseudomonas was chosen to study cumulative PHB. When
growing under photoautotrophic conditions, R. palustris fixes CO2, provided an inorganic electron donor is
present (H2, S2O32−, weak H2S). R. palustris can also grow richly in a synthetic medium that contains organic
compounds such as organic acids, alcohols or aromatic substances (Carlozzi and Sacchi, 2001). Thus,
several organic sources are adequate as carbon source and e- donor. Three different media were tested: a
synthetic growth medium (SGM) containing 4.0 g/L of butyric acid and 0.5 g/L of NH4Cl; a synthetic medium
for hydrogen production (SHM) containing 4.0 g/L of butyric acid and 1.0 g/L of Na-glutamate and an effluent
coming from an OMW pretreatment (OMWeff) containing 4.2 g/L of volatile fatty acids (VFAs).
Figure 3a shows the BChl growth versus time. Bchl grew very quickly in SGM, reaching the concentration of
33 mg/L after only 168 hours. Almost the same Bchl concentration (35 mg/L) was reached in SHM, in only 336
hours. The culture grown with the effluent derived from OMW pretreatment (OMWeff) was not able to reach
such high values of Bchl concentration as those obtained by using synthetic broths: even if the experiment
lasted more than 400 h the maximum Bchl concentration was only 25 mg/L. The highest PHB concentration
(215 mg/L) was reached in SHM culture, after 240 hours of growth, then it slightly decreased (Figure 3b). In
the culture broth containing OMWeff, a PHB concentration of 175 mg/L at t408 was found. The lowest PHB
concentration (156 mg/L) was found in the culture grown in SGM at t168. Besides the accumulation of
bioplastics, R. palustris was able to produce BioH2. Cumulative hydrogen volumes are reported in Figure 3c.
BioH2 production was observed in two culture broths only: SHM and OMWeff, but no gas was produced in
SGM. The best results were obtained for the culture broth containing OMWeff. Under this condition, a
cumulative H2 volume of 1,825 mL/L of culture was attained. In SHM 30% less H2 was produced, in
comparison with the previous result. During the experiment, the consumption of VFAs was checked. The
results are shown in Figure 3d. The reduction in the VFAs content was very fast in the two synthetic culture
broths; while it was slower in the culture containing OMWeff. In this last culture, the COD consumption was
also monitored. The COD concentration decreased slightly (about 23%).

Figure 3: Growth trends of R. palustris versus time: Bchl concentration (a), cumulative PHB (b), cumulative
hydrogen (c) and consumption of substrates (d). The experiments were carried out feeding the
photobioreactor with two different synthetic media (SGM and SHM), and a third containing pre-treated olive
mill wastewater (OMWeff). The symbols represent the mean values of three replications ± SD. BA: butyric acid;
VFAs: volatile fatty acids; COD: chemical oxygen demand.

4. Discussion
PHB accumulation can represent an alternative pathway for discharging excess reducing power. Usually, a
reserve material such as PHB increases under unbalanced growth conditions, for example when nutrients are
limited. In the experiments carried out with the cyanobacterial species, the need of an additional organic
carbon source to open up the PHB-accumulation pathway has been underlined, as already observed by
Mallick (2007). In fact, no increase in PHB concentration was observed before adding acetate (Figure 1).
Recently, Carpine et al. (2015) investigated the growth of a selected cyanobacterial strain in a mineral
medium, even with macronutrient depletion; they obtained a limited PHB accumulation of 4 mg/L only. On the
contrary, as can be observed in Figure 2, an excess of organic substrate did not push the accumulation of the
PHB further, so it is fundamental to find out the optimum concentration and the growth strategy in order to
allow cyanobacteria to accumulate as much polymer as possible. Conversely, when a microorganism has the
genetic arrangement that supports PHB production, this polymer could be produced even without stresses or
nutrient starvation. The capability to accumulate this polymer can vary greatly among microorganism species
as reported in Table 1. Furthermore, on changing the growth conditions, there can be important differences in
PHB accumulation, even for the same bacterial strain. Belonging to PNSB, the bacterial genus that seems
more able to accumulate a substantial quantity of PHB are Rhodobacter and Rhodospirillum, thus suggesting
that the efficiency of this biochemical pathway depends on the particular species. In general, macronutrient
depletion (N and/or P) could help to create a stressful growth condition and lead to an extra accumulation of
the polymer. By culturing R. palustris in a standard medium, without stresses, it was possible to reach a PHB
concentration of 150 mg/L (Figure 3b). When a lack of nitrogen occurred, the bacteria started to produce both
hydrogen and PHB. Nevertheless, the two metabolic pathways are in competition (Khatipov et al., 1998); this
means that the higher the cumulative hydrogen volume, the lower the amount of PHB. Depending on the
goals, the coproduction of hydrogen could be an obstacle to obtaining the maximum amount of PHB in the
microbial dry-biomass; or an interesting co-product that makes the entire biotechnological process more
ecological (Khatipov et al., 1998; Oliveira et al., 2015). In this work, it was possible to reach a good level of
PHB accumulation (175 mg/L) together with the hydrogen production of 1,825 mL/L of culture using the broth
containing pre-treated olive mill wastewater (OMWeff).

Table 1: Comparison of data on PHB content obtained in this work with those reported in literature, growing
PNSB under different regimens

PNSB Growth regimen
C

source Depletion
H2

production
PHB content

(%) Ref.

Rhodobacter
capsulatus Kb1

Batch

Acetic Acid

34
Liebergesell
et al., 1991 Rhodobacter

sphaeroides Y
63

Rhodobacter
sphaeroides RV

Batch Acetic Acid no 38 Khatipov et
al.,1998

Batch Glucose no 8

Rhodopseudomonas
palustris 42OL

Batch Acetic Acid

no 1-4
Carlozzi
and Sacchi,
2001 Batch Butyric Acid yes 18.1

Rhodopseudomonas
palustris 42OL

Batch Malic Acid yes 7 Vincenzini
et al., 1997

Batch Malic Acid P no 18

Rhodopseudomonas
palustris sp.

Batch Butyric Acid yes 7
This work

Batch OMWeff yes 9

Rhodopseudomonas
palustris 1850

Batch Acetic Acid N -- 15
Liebergesell
et al., 1991

Rhodospirillum
rubrum UR2

Batch Malic Acid yes 40 Melnicki et
al., 2009

Batch Malic Acid S -- 59

With the prospect of a future industrial application, the whole process can be very desirable and
environmentally friendly, since we can attain: i) the biological treatment of a highly polluting waste; ii) the
production of bioH2 from renewable sources and iii) the production of an extremely biodegradable bioplastic.

3. Conclusions
The present study investigated the possibility to produce bioplastics by means of photosynthetic pathways
using either blu-green or purple photosynthetic microorganisms (cyanobacteria and PNSB). No production of
PHB was observed when cultivating cyanobacteria in autotrophic conditions. On the contrary, when adding
acetate (mixotrophic condition), it was possible to reach a PHB concentration of 317 mg/L. A co-production of
PHB and hydrogen was also possible when growing PNSB, such as R. palustris. Biological processes used to
produce bioplastics are very attractive because of the possibility to use renewable resources by feeding also
microorganisms with pre-treated wastewater. If this technology was properly set up to maximize the green
products, it could be an environmentally friendly alternative to the production of plastics from fossil sources.

Acknowledgments
This study was financed by the Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, Italy (project N. 2014.0986) and the UdR
of Consorzio Interuniversitario Nazionale per la Scienza e Tecnologia dei Materiali (INSTM), Florence, Italy.

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