| Title | Polyethylene Valorization by Combined Chemical Catalysis with Bioconversion by Plastic-Enriched Microbial Consortia |
|---|---|
| ID_Doc | 24351 |
| Authors | Gregory, GJ; Wang, C; Sadula, S; Koval, S; Lobo, RF; Vlachos, DG; Papoutsakis, ET |
| Title | Polyethylene Valorization by Combined Chemical Catalysis with Bioconversion by Plastic-Enriched Microbial Consortia |
| Year | 2023 |
| Published | |
| Abstract | There are few reports of microbial deconstruction or functionalization of the recalcitrant backbone of polyolefins. However, microbes can utilize polyolefin deconstruction products, including n-alkanes. Here, we combined chemical catalysis with bioconversion to valorize polyethylene (PE) deconstruction products. High-density PE (HDPE) was deconstructed via hydrogenolysis over a ruthenium on carbon catalyst. The resulting n-alkane mixture (C4-C35) was utilized as a feedstock for microbial consortia derived from soil from local recycling plants. We found two consortia that utilized the PE-deconstruction product mix as a sole carbon source. We adapted the consortia on a commercially available n-alkane mix to reduce the number of species present and enrich for enhanced alkane utilization. Both resulting enriched consortia utilized the PE-deconstruction product mix more effectively than the original (parent) consortia. The predominant metabolite produced from a model alkane hexadecane by both enriched consortia was a C16-C16 wax ester. Wax esters have considerable industrial value, with longer chain lengths (C32-C36) having the highest value. We identified two Rhodococcus aetherivorans strains that grow well on C24, indicating that this species is important for the functionalization of long-chain alkanes. This work demonstrates that enriched consortia from plastic-enriched environments can be combined with chemical catalysis to valorize PE. |
| https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2022/12/20/2022.12.20.521199.full.pdf |
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