ABSTRACT
Studies in the 1980s by ICI (Imperial Chemical Industries, UK) on bacterial production of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) identified glucose (from dextrose) and Ralstonia eutropha as promising substrate and bacterial strains to be combined for PHA production, based on product yield from carbon source, as well as feedstock costs and availability for commodity production in Europe. Different authors have pointed out molasses as a good feedstock for PHA production. Some of the most studied bacteria able to produce PHA from sucrose are presented here. Comparing the sucrose-containing raw materials, sugarcane molasses yielded up to 55% of cell dry mass (CDM) as P(3HB). With the introduction of second-generation ethanol in the sugar and alcohol mills, a new opportunity was opened to produce PHA integrated in this model, using sugars present in sugarcane bagasse but not fermented by ethanologenic yeasts.
