Production of Biodegradable Polyhydroxyalkanoate Polymers using Advanced Biological Wastewater Treatment Process Technology

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The aim of this project is to develop a sustainable process for producing biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHAs)polymers from an innovative aerobic-anaerobic biological wastewater treatment process, ?treating? high strength food industry effluent. These biopolymers offer enormous potential for use as renewable and biodegradable thermoplastics. It is proposed to investigate two process configurations, namely the sequencing batch reactor and a continuous two step anaerobic-aerobic reaction system. These will be studied at bench-scale. The outcomes include: 1. Determination of the optimum microbial conditions and key growth parameters for the production of PHA. 2. Optimisation of the process configuration, operating strategies and operating conditions to maximise the production of PHA. 3. Assessment of the influence of the feed composition (e.g. VFA) on the PHA composition (PHB/PHV).