Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Determination of the Glycogen Content in Cyanobacteria
Published on: July 17, 2017
Bioprocess Engineering Aspects of Sustainable Polyhydroxyalkanoate Production in Cyanobacteria
Donya Kamravamanesh1,2, Maximilian Lackner3,4, Christoph Herwig5
1Institute of Chemical, Environmental and Bioscience Engineering, Research Area Biochemical Engineering, Technische Universität Wien, 1060 Vienna, Austria. donya.kamravamanesh@tuwien.ac.at.
Abstract:
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a group of biopolymers produced in various microorganisms as carbon and energy reserve when the main nutrient, necessary for growth, is limited. PHAs are attractive substitutes for conventional petrochemical plastics, as they possess similar material properties, along with biocompatibility and complete biodegradability. The use of PHAs is restricted, mainly due to the high production costs associated with the carbon source used for bacterial fermentation. Cyanobacteria can accumulate PHAs under photoautotrophic growth conditions using CO₂ and sunlight. However, the productivity of photoautotrophic PHA production from cyanobacteria is much lower than in the case of heterotrophic bacteria. Great effort has been focused to reduce the cost of PHA production, mainly by the development of optimized strains and more efficient cultivation and recovery processes. Minimization of the PHA production cost can only be achieved by considering the design and a complete analysis of the whole process. With the aim on commercializing PHA, this review will discuss the advances and the challenges associated with the upstream processing of cyanobacterial PHA production, in order to help the design of the most efficient method on the industrial scale.
Related Concept Videos
Sustainable Development
Bacterial Phylum Cyanobacteria
Design Example: Sustainability in Concrete Building
There are multiple approaches to achieve sustainability in a commercial concrete building. For instance, construct a concrete parking area under the building, utilizing pervious concrete paver blocks in open areas to facilitate rainwater collection through an underground...
What is Genetic Engineering?
Quantitative Aspects of Drug-Receptor Interaction
Heat Engines
Whenever we consider heat engines (and associated devices such as refrigerators and heat pumps), we do not use the standard sign convention for heat and work. For convenience, we assume that the symbols Qh, Qc, and W represent only the amounts of heat transferred...

