POLYHYDROXYALKANOATES AND METHODS THEREOF

The present disclosure relates to polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) polymer and methods of obtaining thereof. Specifically, the present disclosure relates to methods of obtaining PHA polymer enriched in medium-chain length (mcl) PHA monomers. In an embodiment, the method disclosed relates to obtaining mcl enriched PHA polymer using mixed microbial cultures and fermented liquid rich in caproate. In an embodiment, the method disclosed relates to a method of obtaining a PHA containing a fraction of HHx using a caproate-rich fermented effluent. In an embodiment, a polymer comprising 3-hydroxyhexanoate monomers was obtained using a caproate-rich fermented feedstock. A mixed microbial culture was selected under a feast and famine regime to obtain a polymer containing HHx monomers. In an embodiment, the typical three-stage process for obtaining PHA was operated using fruit waste as feedstock and the operating conditions of the acidogenic reactor were tailored to promote acidogenesis as well as chain elongation reactions to produce caproate. In an embodiment, the method of the present disclosure improves the process of obtaining PHA by using mixed microbial culture. The improvement is a consequence of obtaining a third monomer - 3-hydroxyhexanoate (a mcl-PHA). Owing to the fact that it is a longer monomer and falls into the category of medium-length chain hydroxyalkanoate (as opposed to 3-hydroxybutyrate (HB), 3-hydroxyvalerate (HV), which fall into the category of short-length chain hydroxyalkanoates), a polymer