Recovery of resources and energy using methane-utilizing bacteria : synthesis and regeneration of biodegradable, tailorable bioplastics and production of nitrous oxide
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Methane is a familiar and abundantly available gas with both natural and anthropogenic sources. Aerobic methanotrophs (methane-utilizing bacteria) use methane as their sole carbon and energy source. Use of methanotrophs for biotechnological applications to convert methane into value-added products is attractive since methane is cheap, abundant, and in the case of anaerobic digestion is a renewable carbon source. One such potential application is production of biodegradable bioplastic, polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a sustainable alternative to petroleum-based plastics. Previously, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB) was the only type of PHAs reported to be produced by methanotrophs. However, applications for P3HB are limited by its narrow melt processing windows and lack of flexibility. This research present a methodology to produce various PHAs having a wide range of thermophysical properties using methane as a primary feedstock and added co-substrates. This research also focuses on a recycling strategy to regenerate waste PHA products into new PHAs using "abiotic-biotic PHA recycling" that is rapid and efficient, and can avoid downcycling (i.e., it can avoid decrease of molecular weights each cycle). Methanotrophs can also be used to remove nitrogen from wastewater and generate nitrous oxide, a potential co-oxidant of biogas methane to increase energy production. Finally, this research demonstrates a novel methanotroph fermentation scheme, an emulsion-based fermentation, which enables enhanced mass transfer of insoluble methane substrates to methanotroph medium without the need for vigorous agitation.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2016 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Myung, Jaewook |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. |
| Primary advisor | Criddle, Craig |
| Thesis advisor | Criddle, Craig |
| Thesis advisor | McCarty, Perry L |
| Thesis advisor | Waymouth, Robert M |
| Advisor | McCarty, Perry L |
| Advisor | Waymouth, Robert M |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Jaewook Myung. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. |
| Thesis | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Stanford University, 2016. |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2016 by Jaewook Myung
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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