Recovery of poly-3-hydroxybutyrate from Alcaligenes eutrophus by surfactant-chelate aqueous system

A new method for the recovery of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) from Alcalig enes eutrophus was reported. This process involved the use of a surfactant- chelate aqueous solution. The key factors that influenced the purity, recov ery rate and My of recovered PHB were investigated. The purity and recovery rate were determined by the amount of surfactant, the ratio of chelate to dry biomass, pH value, temperature and treatment time, whereas the My was a ffected by pH value and temperature. The optimal recovery conditions were a 0.12:1 surfactant-to-dry biomass ratio, a 0.08:1 chelate-to-dry biomass ra tio, a pH value of 13, a 50 degrees C temperature and a 10-min treatment ti me. Under such conditions, a purity of 98.7%, a recovery rate of 93.3% and a My of 316000 were obtained. The original My was 402000. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.