(239a) Extracellular PHA Production from Woody Biomass

PHAs are commonly produced as bacterial carbon and energy storage intracellular. Recovery and purification of PHA are thus costly besides the production of cell biomass. Extracellular production of the hydroxyl acids can revolutionize the PHA production by increasing efficiency and enhancing product utility. Woody biomass can be converted to R-HAs via sugar-based platform. Hemicellulosic hydrolysates as well as cellulosic hydrolysates are excellent substrates for R-3-hydroxybutyric acid (R-3-HB) production by Burkholderia cepacia. Process optimization can be applied to maximize the yield and R-HA titer in the final fermentation broth.