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Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Laboratory Production of Biofuels and Biochemicals from a Rapeseed Oil through Catalytic Cracking Conversion
Published on: September 2, 2016
Production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) by Cupriavidus necator from waste rapeseed oil using
Stanislav Obruca1, Ivana Marova, Ondrej Snajdar
1Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Food Chemistry and Biotechnology, Brno University of Technology, Purkynova 118, 612 00, Brno, Czech Republic. Stana.O@seznam.cz
Abstract:
Waste rapeseed oil is a useful substrate for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production employing Cupriavidus necator H16. In fed-batch mode, we obtained biomass and PHA yields of 138 and 105 g l(-1), respectively. Yield coefficient and volumetric productivity were 0.83 g PHA per g oil and 1.46 g l(-1) h(-1), respectively. Propanol at 1% (v/v) enhanced both PHA and biomass formation significantly and, furthermore, resulted in incorporation of 3-hydroxyvalerate units into PHA structure. Thus, propanol can be used as an effective precursor of 3-hydroxyvalarete for production of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) copolymer. During the fed-batch cultivation, propanol concentration was maintained at 1% which resulted in 8% content of 3-hydroxyvalerate in copolymer.
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