Photosynthetic production of polyhydroxybutyrates (PHB) by cyanobacteria isolated from wastewater treatment processes

Polyhydroxybutirates (PHB) are a promising alternative to conventional plastics as they can be biodegraded and they have similar properties to ordinary plastics. PHB production by cyanobacteria can reduce the production costs of this bioplastics whereas a carbon neutral production process is achieved. The main objectives of this work were to isolate cyanobacterial from a system fed with wastewater and to study the PHB accumulation using a three-stage feeding strategy (growth phase, feast-famine phase and feast phase). Synechocystis sp, Synechococcus sp, Leptolyngbya sp, and Microcoleus sp, were isolated and a 5.04 %dcw of PHB and a 69%dcw of glycogen were reached