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Updated: Feb 18, 2026

Scalable Step-by-Step Approach of Sustainable Bioplastic Production from Food Waste
Published on: July 18, 2025
Targeted poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) bioplastic production from carbon dioxide
Stef Ghysels1, Md Salatul Islam Mozumder2, Heleen De Wever3
1Ghent University, Department of Biosystems Engineering, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium.
Abstract:
A microbial production process was developed to convert CO2 and valeric acid into tailored poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) bioplastics. The aim was to understand microbial PHBV production in mixotrophic conditions and to control the monomer distribution in the polymer. Continuous sparging of CO2 with pulse and pH-stat feeding of valeric acid were evaluated to produce PHBV copolyesters with predefined properties. The desired random monomer distribution was obtained by limiting the valeric acid concentration (below 1 gL-1). 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and chromatographic analysis of the PHBV copolymer confirmed both the monomer distribution and the 3-hydroxyvalerate (3HV) fraction in the produced PHBV. A physical-based model was developed for mixotrophic PHBV production, which was calibrated and validated with independent experimental datasets. To produce PHBV with a predefined 3HV fraction, an operating diagram was constructed. This tool was able to predict the 3HV fraction with a very good accuracy (2% deviation).
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