Polyhydroxybutyrate-Natural Fiber Reinforcement Biocomposite Production and Their Biological Recyclability through Anaerobic Digestion
The existing recycling methods of PHA-based material are ineffective in terms of increasing resource efficiency and the production of high value end-of-life products. Therefore, in this study, a novel approach of acidogenic fermentation was proposed to recycle PHB-based composites reinforced with na...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Energies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/23/8934 |
| _version_ | 1797463375729393664 |
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| author | Danh H. Vu Amir Mahboubi Jorge A. Ferreira Mohammad J. Taherzadeh Dan Åkesson |
| author_facet | Danh H. Vu Amir Mahboubi Jorge A. Ferreira Mohammad J. Taherzadeh Dan Åkesson |
| author_sort | Danh H. Vu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The existing recycling methods of PHA-based material are ineffective in terms of increasing resource efficiency and the production of high value end-of-life products. Therefore, in this study, a novel approach of acidogenic fermentation was proposed to recycle PHB-based composites reinforced with natural fibers such as cellulose, chitin, chitosan, orange waste, sawdust, soy protein, and starch. The inclusion of cellulose, chitosan, and sawdust improved the impact properties of the composites while other fillers had various effects on the mechanical properties. These three composites and neat PHB were subsequently subjected to biological degradation via acidogenic digestion to determine the possibility of converting PHB-based composites into volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Two different pH levels of 6 and 10 were applied to assess the effect of pH on the bioconversion and inhibition of the methanogenesis. The results showed promising PHB degradation, contributing to considerable VFA production of 2.5 g/L at pH 6 after 47 days. At pH 6, the presence of the natural fibers in the biocomposites promoted the degradation rate. On the contrary, pH 10 proved to be more suitable for the degradation of the fibers. The VFA which is produced can be recirculated into PHB production, fitting with the concept of a circulating bioeconomy. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:49:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c1b57a8223794f188c73920b1cb76fe1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T17:49:47Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-c1b57a8223794f188c73920b1cb76fe12023-11-24T10:52:38ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732022-11-011523893410.3390/en15238934Polyhydroxybutyrate-Natural Fiber Reinforcement Biocomposite Production and Their Biological Recyclability through Anaerobic DigestionDanh H. Vu0Amir Mahboubi1Jorge A. Ferreira2Mohammad J. Taherzadeh3Dan Åkesson4Swedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, SwedenSwedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, SwedenSwedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, SwedenSwedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, SwedenSwedish Centre for Resource Recovery, University of Borås, 501 90 Borås, SwedenThe existing recycling methods of PHA-based material are ineffective in terms of increasing resource efficiency and the production of high value end-of-life products. Therefore, in this study, a novel approach of acidogenic fermentation was proposed to recycle PHB-based composites reinforced with natural fibers such as cellulose, chitin, chitosan, orange waste, sawdust, soy protein, and starch. The inclusion of cellulose, chitosan, and sawdust improved the impact properties of the composites while other fillers had various effects on the mechanical properties. These three composites and neat PHB were subsequently subjected to biological degradation via acidogenic digestion to determine the possibility of converting PHB-based composites into volatile fatty acids (VFAs). Two different pH levels of 6 and 10 were applied to assess the effect of pH on the bioconversion and inhibition of the methanogenesis. The results showed promising PHB degradation, contributing to considerable VFA production of 2.5 g/L at pH 6 after 47 days. At pH 6, the presence of the natural fibers in the biocomposites promoted the degradation rate. On the contrary, pH 10 proved to be more suitable for the degradation of the fibers. The VFA which is produced can be recirculated into PHB production, fitting with the concept of a circulating bioeconomy.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/23/8934acidogenic fermentationbiocompositesbiological recyclingnatural fillerspolyhydroxybutyratevolatile fatty acids |
| spellingShingle | Danh H. Vu Amir Mahboubi Jorge A. Ferreira Mohammad J. Taherzadeh Dan Åkesson Polyhydroxybutyrate-Natural Fiber Reinforcement Biocomposite Production and Their Biological Recyclability through Anaerobic Digestion Energies acidogenic fermentation biocomposites biological recycling natural fillers polyhydroxybutyrate volatile fatty acids |
| title | Polyhydroxybutyrate-Natural Fiber Reinforcement Biocomposite Production and Their Biological Recyclability through Anaerobic Digestion |
| title_full | Polyhydroxybutyrate-Natural Fiber Reinforcement Biocomposite Production and Their Biological Recyclability through Anaerobic Digestion |
| title_fullStr | Polyhydroxybutyrate-Natural Fiber Reinforcement Biocomposite Production and Their Biological Recyclability through Anaerobic Digestion |
| title_full_unstemmed | Polyhydroxybutyrate-Natural Fiber Reinforcement Biocomposite Production and Their Biological Recyclability through Anaerobic Digestion |
| title_short | Polyhydroxybutyrate-Natural Fiber Reinforcement Biocomposite Production and Their Biological Recyclability through Anaerobic Digestion |
| title_sort | polyhydroxybutyrate natural fiber reinforcement biocomposite production and their biological recyclability through anaerobic digestion |
| topic | acidogenic fermentation biocomposites biological recycling natural fillers polyhydroxybutyrate volatile fatty acids |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/23/8934 |
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