Background

Overview of Microbial Fermentation to Produce Environment-friendly Materials

Under the dual pressure of environmental pollution and resource depletion, traditional plastic materials have caused a great burden on the environment because of their difficult to degrade characteristics. Therefore, finding an alternative material that is both economical and environment-friendly has become an important task for scientific researchers. The use of microbial fermentation to produce polymer environment-friendly materials is an innovative technology under this background. It is an advanced technology that uses microorganisms as production media to prepare degradable and environment-friendly polymer materials through their biosynthetic pathway. The production of polymer materials by microbial fermentation can not only reduce the dependence on petroleum resources, but also achieve true biodegradation while ensuring material properties, thereby reducing environmental pressure.

Microbial fermentation production of polymer environment-friendly materials as a cutting-edge production technology, it not only meets the current requirements for green and sustainable development, but also has a wide range of application potential. For example, bacterial cellulose (BC), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and γ-polyglutamate can be achieved by microbial fermentation, are great potential for green environment-friendly materials, with a wide range of applications.

Fig. 1. Next-generation industrial biotechnology (NGIB) based on reprogrammed Halomonas spp. for PHAs production. (Tan, et al., 2021)

With the further development of microbial fermentation production of environment-friendly materials, related fields include carbon source substrate development, fermentation process optimization, microbial fixation and material performance optimization are also changing, which provide a scientific basis for industrialization and large-scale applications. Creative BioMart Microbe, with its expertise and experience in the field of fermentation, is committed to producing new environment-friendly materials through microbial fermentation. Through continuous technological innovation and improvement, we look forward to creating a new world of microbial fermentation production. If you're interest in the same research area, please feel free to contact us for more information.

Service Procedure

Service Details

Fermentation Strain Screening

The production of different environment-friendly materials is based on different microbial fermentation capabilities, and the relevant fermentation conditions, especially the selection of carbon sources in the medium, also need to be constantly explored to obtain the optimal solution. According to the characteristics and production conditions of the required products, the suitable microbial strains are selected, and the selected microbial strains are separated and cultured, and the pure strains are selected. According to the needs of microbial strains, the medium containing nutrients such as carbon source, nitrogen source, mineral salt and growth factor is configured. We use a variety of technologies including genetic engineering technology, high-throughput screening technology, sensor technology and other strategies to obtain the dominant strains in the shortest time.

Fermentation Process Optimization

In the fermentation process, conditions such as temperature, pH value and oxygen supply are strictly controlled to promote the metabolic activities of microorganisms and the synthesis of target products. To this end, our technical team has built a variety of fermentation models to predict fermentation yield and fermentation results, while our fermentation equipment allows real-time monitoring of fermentation progress.

Fermentation Process Customization

We have researchers from the fields of fermentation engineering and microbiology who can design and optimize the entire fermentation process for you. At present, some common environment-friendly materials such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), bacterial cellulose (BC) and γ-polyglutamate, we can undertake production services. And other more customized production needs, you can also contact us for consultation.

Material Identification Analysis

The environment-friendly materials obtained by fermentation will be comprehensively analyzed and identified, thus the quality of materials obtained by microbial fermentation can be fully understood. These analysis services include but are not limited to biodegradability assessment, biocompatibility assessment, microbiological testing, stability testing, etc. Creative BioMart Microbe has established a professional team composed of experienced employees who can assist customers in comprehensively compliant material testing.

Our Advantages

• Our improved strains have the characteristics of rapid growth, genetic stability, reduction of cultivation cost, etc.
• Many years of experience in fermentation.
• High quality fermentation equipment.
• Capable of industrial sized scale-up.

Case Study

Case Study 1: Using peels as a nutrient source for Komagataeibacter hansenii could cut BC production costs.

This study evaluated Komagataeibacter hansenii GA2016's ability to produce bacterial cellulose (BC) from various fruit and vegetable peels, comparing their BC's properties to that from Hestrin-Schramm medium and plant cellulose. Except for pomegranate, all peels supported BC production, with kiwifruit peel hydrolysate yielding the most BC (11.53%) and apple the least (1.54%). The BCs had superior water-holding capacity (627.50% to 928.79%), finer fiber diameters (47.64 nm to 61.11 nm), higher crystallinity (80.27% to 92.96%), and greater thermal stability than HSBC and CP.

Fig. 2. The phenolic contents of hydrolysates and their bacterial cellulose yields. (Güzel, et al., 2020)

Case Study 2: Development of large-scale fermentation process with Halomonas bluephagenesis for production of P(3HB-co-4HB).

This study aims to scale up the production of low-cost P(3HB-co-4HB) from a 7.5-L fermenter to 1- and 5-m3 bioreactors using Halomonas bluephagenesis TD40 with various substrates under non-sterile conditions. The process reduces energy needs by minimizing steam use and utilizes waste gluconate to cut raw material costs by 60%. A mathematical model guides the feeding strategy, achieving 100 g/L cell dry weight with 60.4% P(3HB-co-4HB) in the 5 m3 vessel after 36 hours. Reducing waste CSL use increases P(3HB-co-4HB) content to 74%, demonstrating a stable, continuous, open process for efficient, low-cost P(3HB-co-4HB) production integrated with downstream processing.

Fig. 3. Cell dry weight (CDW) and PHA production by H. bluephagenesis TD40 inoculated in a 7.5-L bioreactor. (Ye, et al., 2018)

Case Study 3: The modified Halomonas bluephagenesis TD1.0 enables efficient multi-product fermentation.

Halomonas bluephagenesis TD1.0 was genetically modified to produce propane, PHB, and chemicals mandelate and hydroxymandelate in a single, non-sterile batch process. Products were separated by gas, broth, and biomass. The strain was engineered to direct metabolic flux towards the desired chemicals. Optimization strategies were used to enhance production, resulting in record propane and mandelate yields for the species. This demonstrates the potential of H. bluephagenesis as a versatile platform for cost-effective production of valuable bioproducts.

Fig. 4. PHA production during fermentation. (Park, et al., 2023)

FAQs

References:

1. Tan D.; et al. Grand Challenges for Industrializing Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Trends Biotechnol. 2021;39(9):953-963.
2. Güzel M, Akpınar Ö. Preparation and characterization of bacterial cellulose produced from fruit and vegetable peels by Komagataeibacter hansenii GA2016. Int J Biol Macromol. 2020;162:1597-1604.
3. Ye J.; et al. Pilot Scale-up of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) Production by Halomonas bluephagenesis via Cell Growth Adapted Optimization Process. Biotechnol J. 2018;13(5):e1800074.
4. Park H.; et al. Co-production of biofuel, bioplastics and biochemicals during extended fermentation of Halomonas bluephagenesis. Microb Biotechnol. 2023;16(2):307-321.