Manufacturing

bioplastics from
organic waste:
opportunities and
challenges in biofuel waste
applications
Outline
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1. Introduce the team from UQ
2. What are PHA bioplastics? What are they good for? What are they worth?
3. How can we make (affordable) PHA bioplastics?
4. Challenges
Carbon for growth of biomass v storage as polymer
Controlling material properties polymer composition
Crystallisation polymer aging
5. Potential to make PHA plastics from dunder and other sugar
fermentation wastes
The team at UQ
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The first to characterize mixed culture PHA material properties
The first to demonstrate the blend character of mixed culture PHAs
The first to produce block and random copolymer of PHA using mixed cultures
The team at UQ
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Patents and IP in the area of
material property control of PHAs
A recent major review of
polyhydroxyalkanoate properties
and chemistry
The first to characterize mixed culture PHA material properties
The first to demonstrate the blend character of mixed culture PHAs
The first to produce block and random copolymer of PHA using mixed cultures
Our projects
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Next generation bioplastics: Production of PHA
bioplastics from organic waste [ARC L]
Novel biobased and biodegradable
wood polymer composites [ARC L]
Production of Biodegradable
Polyhydroxyalkanoate Polymers using
Advanced Biological Wastewater
Treatment Process Technology [ARC D]
Novel Technology to Produce Biodegradable
Polymer and Electrical Energy from Sewage
Treatment Biosolids [DEST]
Collaboration with AnoxKaldnes
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Cella Technologies
Wastewater Treatment to a Biorefinery
Implementation
2002-2013
Why bother with bioplastics?
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Plastics are ubiquitous; excellent material properties and low price.
BUT: Plastic waste is widespread and has a long lifetime.
Development of alternatives: biodegradable and produced from renewable
resources with excellent material properties
Demand for bioplastics is growing
rapidly
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Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)
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Polyesters intracellularly accumulated by all sorts
of bacteria (>300 species)
Linear polyesters random copolymer structure
PHA plastics from PHA polymers
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Biodegradable
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Arcos-Hernandez M, Laycock B, Pratt S, Donose BC, Nikolic MAL, Luckman P, Werker A, Lant PA (2012) Biodegradation in a soil
environment of activated sludge derived polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHBV). Polymer Degradation and Stability: 2301-2312
4 months of degradation
Making (affordable) PHA
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Making (affordable) PHA
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Making (affordable) PHA
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Biomass Enrichment: Feast and
famine. During famine PHA is used
by accumulating organisms, giving
them advantage over non-
accumulating bacteria
PHA accumulation: Bacteria are
harvested and then fed with
organic waste. They essentially
fill-up with PHA in the
accumulation reactor (> 50% PHA
wt/wt)
Pilot scale production to address
some of the challenges
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Challenge:
Carbon for growth v storage
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The feedstock
Waste
New cells
PHA polymer
Bacteria simultaneously grow
and store carbon for
commercial PHA production
the objective is to maximise
the fraction of feedstock that
ends up as polymer
Challenge:
Carbon for growth v storage
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Enrich Accumulate
The feedstock
Waste
The product
PHA Bioplastic
High nutrient feedstock is a
challenge to PHA accumulation
Case study: high nutrient feedstock
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EU funded project > $7 million
Australia (UQ), Canada and 11 EU countries.
Aim for the UQ activities: To investigate novel
technology to produce biodegradable polymer and
electrical energy from sewage treatment biosolids.
High Pressure Thermal Hydrolysis
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The feedstock
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TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES
Consistent performance in carbon removal from a wastewater.
Average PHA content of biomass accumulation more 35% but
preferably more than 50% of the volatile suspended solids
content.
Weight average molecular weight of the extracted PHA more than
400,000 g/mol but preferably more than 500,000 g/mol
Purity of the extracted PHA greater than 95% but preferably
greater than 97%.
Production of PHA with Enhanced Thermal Stability
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Challenge: material properties
Composition
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Time (h)
0 5 10 15 20 25
H
V

c
o
n
t
e
n
t

(
%
m
o
l
)
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
Exp3 100 HPr
Exp4 100 HPr (Replicate Exp3)
Exp5 50/50 HAc HPr
Exp6 50/50 HAc HPr (Replicate Exp5)
Exp7 100 HAc - 100 HPr
Exp8 100 HAc - 100 HPr (Replicate Exp7)
Exp9 100 HAc - 100 HPr (pulses 200 mgCOD/L)
P(3HV)
n
P(3HB)
n
Acetate Propionate
The feedstock
Waste
Challenge: material properties
Block v random polymers
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Polymer Characteristic Structure
High HB content

High HV content

50% HV, random structure

50% HV, block structure

Challenge: material properties
Polymer architecture
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Challenge: material properties
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Challenge:
Crystallisation
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Waste from sugar fermentation as a
feedstock
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Waste from sugar fermentation as a
feedstock
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The feedstock
Waste
VFA
Platform
chemical
The product
PHA Bioplastic
Integration with digestion and
nutrient recovery
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Enrichment
Accumulation
Digestion
dunder
PHA accumulating
biomas s
PHA rich biomass
PHA biopolymer
Waste biomass
Biogas
Nutrients
Bios olids
CODrich effluent
Inhibition
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At 10x dilution : considerable VFA production (in excess of 10% of COD was
converted to VFA and hydrogen during the 7 day batch test).
No methane production was observed at such high loading; whether that was
due to substrate (sulphur and salt) or product (acid) inhibition or a
combination of the two could be determined with further experiments.
At 20x dilution : considerable VFA production and growing methane production
(in excess of 15% of COD was converted to VFA and methane during the 7 day
batch test).
Biogas production increased with time; higher biogas yields would have been
achieved with longer batch tests. This result showed that inhibition could be
overcome with dilution or organic load management