Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 27, 2026

Author Spotlight: Understanding and Detecting Environmental Antimicrobial Resistance by Combining Culture-Based Techniques and Genomics
Published on: July 19, 2024
Bioplastic recovery from wastewater: A new protocol for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) extraction from mixed microbial
Giorgio Mannina1, Dario Presti1, Gabriela Montiel-Jarillo2
1Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 8, Palermo, IT, Italy.
Abstract:
A new protocol for polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) extraction from mixed microbial cultures (MMCs) is proposed. PHA-accumulating capacity of the MMC was selected in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) fed with a synthetic effluent emulating a fermented oil mill wastewater (OMW). The highest recovery yield and purity (74 ± 8% and 100 ± 5%, respectively) was obtained when using NH4-Laurate for which operating conditions of the extraction process such as temperature, concentration and contact time were optimized. Best conditions for PHA extraction from MMC turned to be: i) a pre-treatment with NaClO at 85 °C with 1 h of contact time, followed by ii) a treatment with lauric acid in a ratio acid lauric to biomass of 2:1 and 3 h of contact time.
Related Concept Videos
Mixing Concrete
Mixing Time
Microbial Morphologies
Microbial Fermentation
Ready Mixed Concrete
Muscle Recovery and Fatigue

