Research Article

PHA Productivity and Yield of Ralstonia eutropha When Intermittently or Continuously Fed a Mixture of Short Chain Fatty Acids

Table 5

Comparison of combined short fatty acid feeding of Ralstonia eutropha in shake flasks.

ParametersVolatile fatty acid
Acetic
(5 g L−1)
Butyric (5 g L−1)Lactic
(8 g L−1)
Propionic (5 g L−1)

Maximum cell population (cfu mL−1)5.70 109a6.17 109ab5.32 109a6.67 109b
Fermentation efficiency (%)70.6a 95.6b70.7a 68.6a
Acid utilization rate (g L−1 h−1)0.048a0.041a0.080b0.046a
PHA concentration (g L−1)2.9ab4.6a2.4b4.3a
Cell dry weight (g L−1)9.9ab14.5b6.0a14.7b
PHA productivity (g L−1 h−1)0.024ab0.037a0.020b0.036a
PHA content (%)29.2a31.9a30.7a29.3a

a,bMeans within column not sharing common superscript differ significantly (P < 0.05).