Effect of C/N ratio on polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) accumulation by Cupriavidus necator and its implication on the use of rice straw hydrolysates

Abstract

The effects of carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio in simulated rice straw hydrolysates using glucose and ammonium chloride on polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) accumulation by Cupriavidus necator was investigated. In general, PHA accumulation rate was higher under higher degrees of N-deficient conditions (e.g., C/N ratio of 360:1) than lower degrees of N-deficient conditions (e.g., C/N ratio of 3.6:1 and 36:1). Also, the most PHA accumulation was observed during the first 12 h after the PHA accumulation initiation. This study showed that the similar PHA accumulation could be achieved by using different accumulation periods depending on C/N ratios. N source presence was important for new cell production, supported by approximately ten times greater PHA accumulation under the N-deficient condition (NH4Cl 0.01 g/L) than the N-free (without NH4Cl) condition after 96 h. C/N ratio of the rice straw hydrolysate was approximately 160:1, based on the glucose content, and this accumulated 0.36±0.0033 g/L PHA with PHA content of 21±3.1% after 12 h. Since external C or N source addition for C/N ratio adjustment increases production cost, an appropriate accumulation period may be used for PHA accumulation from organic wastes, based on the PHA accumulation patterns observed at various C/N ratios and C and N concentrations.