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3120216 
Journal Article 
Effective recovery of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) biopolymer from Cupriavidus necator using a novel and environmentally friendly solvent system 
Fei, T; Cazeneuve, S; Wen, Z; Wu, L; Wang, T 
2016 
Yes 
Biotechnology Progress
ISSN: 8756-7938
EISSN: 1520-6033 
John Wiley and Sons Inc. 
32 
3 
678-685 
English 
26871655 
WOS:000383392200015 
This work demonstrates a significant advance in bioprocessing for a high-melting lipid polymer. A novel and environmental friendly solvent mixture, acetone/ethanol/propylene carbonate (A/E/P, 1:1:1 v/v/v) was identified for extracting poly-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), a high-value biopolymer, from Cupriavidus necator. A set of solubility curves of PHB in various solvents was established. PHB recovery of 85% and purity of 92% were obtained from defatted dry biomass (DDB) using A/E/P. This solvent mixture is compatible with water, and from non-defatted wet biomass, PHB recovery of 83% and purity of 90% were achieved. Water and hexane were evaluated as anti-solvents to assist PHB precipitation, and hexane improved recovery of PHB from biomass to 92% and the purity to 93%. A scale-up extraction and separation reactor was designed, built and successfully tested. Properties of PHB recovered were not significantly affected by the extraction solvent and conditions, as shown by average molecular weight (1.4 × 10(6) ) and melting point (175.2ºC) not being different from PHB extracted using chloroform. Therefore, this biorenewable solvent system was effective and versatile for extracting PHB biopolymers. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. 
anti-solvent; biomass; biopolymer; nontoxic solvent; PHB recovery; solubility curve