Production of medium-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoates by Pseudomonas chlororaphis subsp. aurantiaca: Cultivation on fruit pulp waste and polymer characterization

Pseudomonas chlororaphis subsp. aurantiaca DSM 19603 was cultivated on apple pulp, a glucose- and fructose-rich waste generated during juice production, to produce medium-chain length polyhydroxyalkanoates. A cell dry mass of 8.74 ± 0.20 g/L, with a polymer content of 49.25 ± 4.08% were attained. The produced biopolymer was composed of 42.7 ± 0.1 mol% 3-hydroxydecanoate, 17.9 ± 1.0 mol% 3-hydroxyoctanoate, 14.5 ± 1.1 mol% 3-hydroxybutyrate, 11.1 ± 0.6 mol% 3-hydroxytetradecanoate, 10.1 ± 0.5 mol% 3-hydroxydodecanoate and 3.7 ± 0.2 mol% 3-hydroxyhexanoate. It presented low glass transition and melting temperatures (−40.9 ± 0.7 °C and 42.0 ± 0.1 °C, respectively), and a degradation temperature of 300.0 ± 0.1 °C, coupled to a low crystallinity index (12.7 ± 2.7%), a molecular weight (Mw) of 1.34 × 105 ± 0.18 × 105 Da and a polydispersity index of 2.70 ± 0.03. The biopolymer's films were dense and had a smooth surface, as demonstrated by Scanning Electron Microscopy. They presented a tension at break of 5.21 ± 1.09 MPa, together with an elongation of 400.5 ± 55.8% and an associated Young modulus of 4.86 ± 1.49 MPa, under tensile tests. These attractive filming properties of this biopolymer could potentially be valorised in several areas such as the fine chemicals industry, biomedicine, pharmaceuticals, or food packaging.