Polyhydroxyalkanoate compositions and microbial cultures for making the same
AssigneeNewlight Technologies, LLC
InventorsMarkus Herrema, Kenton Kimmel
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Abstract
Embodiments of the invention relate to the microbial production of polyhydroxyalkanoic acids, or polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), from substrates which cannot be used as a source of carbon and/or energy for microbial growth or PHA synthesis and which have microbial and environmental toxicity. According to one embodiment of the invention, a process for the production of PHA is provided wherein an enzyme such as methane monooxygenase is used to convert volatile organic compounds into PHA through the use of microorganisms that are unable to use volatile organic compounds as a source of carbon for growth or PHA production.
Claims16
A polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) composition comprising (a) polyhydroxyalkanoate, (b) methane-monooxygenase-containing microorganisms (MMO-containing microorganisms) and (c) PHA-producing microorganisms wherein said MMO-containing microorganisms are capable of oxidizing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into MMO-oxidized forms of the VOCs, wherein said PHA-producing microorganisms are capable of using the MMO-oxidized form of the VOCs as a source of carbon for PHA production, and wherein said MMO-containing microorganisms and said PHA-producing microorganisms are different microorganisms.
A microorganism culture comprising (a) polyhydroxyalkanoate, (b) methane-monooxygenase-containing microorganisms (MMO-containing microorganisms) and (c) PHA-producing microorganisms wherein said MMO-containing microorganisms are capable of oxidizing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into MMO-oxidized forms of the VOCs, wherein said PHA-producing microorganisms are capable of using the MMO-oxidized form of the VOCs as a source of carbon for PHA production, and wherein said MMO-containing microorganisms and said PHA-producing microorganisms are different microorganisms.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.