TY - JOUR
T1 - Systematic solvent screening and selection for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHBV) recovery from biomass
AU - Vermeer, Chris M.
AU - Nielsen, Maaike
AU - Eckhardt, Vincent
AU - Hortensius, Matthijs
AU - Tamis, Jelmer
AU - Picken, Stephen J.
AU - Meesters, Gabrie M.H.
AU - Kleerebezem, Robbert
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - The biotechnological production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) derived from organic waste streams by mixed microbial communities is well established at the pilot-level. However, there is limited research on the recovery of the biopolymer from the microbial biomass, while its impact on product quality and product costs is major. When applying solvent extraction, the choice of solvent has a profound influence on many aspects of the process design. This study provides a framework to perform a systematic solvent screening for PHBV extraction. First, a database was constructed of 35 solvents that were assessed according to six different selection criteria. Then, six solvents were chosen for further experimental analysis, including 1-butanol, 2-butanol, 2-ethyl hexanol (2-EH), dimethyl carbonate (DMC), methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), and acetone. The main findings are that the extractions with acetone and DMC obtained the highest yields (91-95%) with reasonably high purities (93-96%), where acetone had a key advantage of the possibility to use water as anti-solvent. Moreover, the results provided new insights in the mechanisms behind PHBV extraction by pointing out that at elevated temperatures the extraction efficiency is less determined by the solvent's solubility parameters and more determined by the solvent size. Although case-specific factors play a role in the final solvent choice, we believe that this study provides a general strategy for the solvent selection process.
AB - The biotechnological production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) derived from organic waste streams by mixed microbial communities is well established at the pilot-level. However, there is limited research on the recovery of the biopolymer from the microbial biomass, while its impact on product quality and product costs is major. When applying solvent extraction, the choice of solvent has a profound influence on many aspects of the process design. This study provides a framework to perform a systematic solvent screening for PHBV extraction. First, a database was constructed of 35 solvents that were assessed according to six different selection criteria. Then, six solvents were chosen for further experimental analysis, including 1-butanol, 2-butanol, 2-ethyl hexanol (2-EH), dimethyl carbonate (DMC), methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK), and acetone. The main findings are that the extractions with acetone and DMC obtained the highest yields (91-95%) with reasonably high purities (93-96%), where acetone had a key advantage of the possibility to use water as anti-solvent. Moreover, the results provided new insights in the mechanisms behind PHBV extraction by pointing out that at elevated temperatures the extraction efficiency is less determined by the solvent's solubility parameters and more determined by the solvent size. Although case-specific factors play a role in the final solvent choice, we believe that this study provides a general strategy for the solvent selection process.
KW - Biopolymers
KW - Downstream processing
KW - Mixed microbial communities
KW - Polyhydroxyalkanoates
KW - Solvent extraction
KW - Waste-to-resources
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85139440987&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jece.2022.108573
DO - 10.1016/j.jece.2022.108573
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85139440987
VL - 10
JO - Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
JF - Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
SN - 2213-3437
IS - 6
M1 - 108573
ER -