Abstract
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA’s) are a biologically produced thermoplastic polymer with similar mechanical and thermal properties to many common petrochemical plastics (i.e. HDPE, polystyrene). PHA’s are also a unique renewable product that can replace many petrochemical currently on the market with a biodegradable alternative. Current commercial PHA production is cost prohibitive to using synthetic feed stocks (i.e. acetic acid, or glucose) and pure cultures. Conversely, PHA production on waste organics presents an opportunity to recover resources (carbon) from an otherwise undesirable substrate. The work herein focused on advancing a three stage Aerobic Dynamic Feeding (ADF) process that has successfully produced PHA rich biomass on fermented dairy manure. The primary focus of this work was the reduction of costs associated with PHA production, with a specific emphasis on reducing aeration (a cost intensive aspect of operations). This work assessed the effect of a reduction in aeration in an ADF based PHA production system.