Waste-derived volatile fatty acids as carbon source for added-value fermentation approaches

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Circular Economy
• Sustainable Chemistry

Background:

• Effective material recycling from biomass and biowaste is crucial for a sustainable circular bioeconomy.
• Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are gaining attention as a versatile carbon source for microbial production of high-value products.
• Low-cost VFA production via dark fermentation of waste streams is key to sustainable bioprocesses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the utilization of a VFA platform for microbial production of polyhydroxyalkanoates, single cell oil, and omega-3 fatty acids.
• To highlight fermentation challenges in implementing VFA-based bioprocesses.
• To discuss strategies employed to overcome these challenges.

Main Methods:

• Review of scientific literature on VFA production and utilization.
• Analysis of bioprocesses for microbial production of target compounds.
• Case studies from the VOLATILE-Biowaste project.

Main Results:

• VFAs derived from waste can serve as a cost-effective feedstock for producing biopolymers, single cell oil, and omega-3 fatty acids.
• Key fermentation challenges include VFA recovery, microbial strain optimization, and process control.
• Successful strategies involve integrated bioprocess design and advanced fermentation techniques.

Conclusions:

• The VFA platform holds significant potential for waste valorization and sustainable production of valuable compounds.
• Addressing fermentation challenges is critical for the industrial-scale implementation of VFA-based bioprocesses.
• This approach contributes to waste reduction and the development of a circular bioeconomy.