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

该项目的目的是开发一种可持续的工艺，通过创新的好氧-厌氧生物废水处理工艺生产可生物降解的聚羟基烷酸酯（PHAs）聚合物。高强度食品工业废水。这些生物聚合物作为可再生和可生物降解的热塑性塑料提供了巨大的潜力。

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).