• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.29 no.5
• /
• pp.776-784
• /
• 2019

Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), the most well-known polyhydroxyalkanoate, is a bio-based, biodegradable polymer that has the potential to replace petroleum-based plastics. Lignocellulose hydrolysate, a non-edible resource, is a promising substrate for the sustainable, fermentative production of PHB. However, its application is limited by the generation of inhibitors during the pretreatment processes. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of PHB production in E. coli in the presence of inhibitors found in lignocellulose hydrolysates. Our results show that the introduction of PHB synthetic genes (bktB, phaB, and phaC from Ralstonia eutropha H16) improved cell growth in the presence of the inhibitors such as furfural, 4-hydroxybenzaldehyde, and vanillin, suggesting that PHB synthetic genes confer resistance to these inhibitors. In addition, increased PHB production was observed in the presence of furfural as opposed to the absence of furfural, suggesting that this compound could be used to stimulate PHB production. Our findings indicate that PHB production using lignocellulose hydrolysates in recombinant E. coli could be an innovative strategy for cost-effective PHB production, and PHB could be a good target product from lignocellulose hydrolysates, especially glucose.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
• /
• v.35 no.4
• /
• pp.270-277
• /
• 2016

BACKGROUND: Significant amount of bisphenol A has been released from the manufacturing process of plastics, epoxy resins, dental material and flame retardants. Bisphenol A has been detected at trace levels in wastewater, surface water, landfill leachate and drinking water. However, the residual survey of bisphenol A has not been performed in agricultural reservoir beside agricultural environment cultivating crops. This study was conducted to monitor the residual bisphenol A in national agricultural reservoirs and understand a level of contamination of bisphenol A in the agricultural environment in Korea. METHODS AND RESULTS: The water and water sediment were collected at agricultural reservoirs in Chungnam, Chungbuk, Kyunggi, Jeonnam, Jeonbuk, Kyungnam and Kyungbuk province. Bisphenol A was analyzed by the LC-MS/MS with triple quad 4500. The recovery of water and water sediment in the agricultural reservoirs showed the level of 95.7~97.2% and 91.5~100.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Bisphenol A was detected at the level of $0.05{\mu}g/L{\sim}0.18{\mu}g/L$ and $0.1{\mu}g/kg{\sim}34{\mu}g/kg$ in water and water sediment of the reservoirs, respectively. Based on the results, the residue of bisphenol A will be tried in the crops surrounding these agricultural reservoirs where bisphenol A detected above $10{\mu}g/kg$ of bisphenol A.

• Clean Technology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.24-31
• /
• 2022

Petroleum-based plastics are used for various purposes and pose a significant threat to the earth's environment and ecosystem. Many efforts have been taken globally in different areas to find alternatives. As part of these efforts, this study manufactured alginate-based polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) blended films by casting from an aqueous solution prepared by mixing 10 wt% petroleum-based PVA with biodegradable, marine biomass-derived alginate. Glutaraldehyde was used as a cross-linking agent, and cardanol, an alkyl phenol-based bio-oil extracted from cashew nut shell, was added in the range of 0.1 to 2.0 wt% to grant antibacterial activity to the films. FTIR and TGA were performed to characterize the manufactured blended films, and the tensile strength, degree of swelling, and antibacterial activity were measured. Results obtained from the FTIR, TGA, and tensile strength test showed that alginate, the main component, was well distributed in the PVA by forming a matrix phase. The brittleness of alginate, a known weakness as a single component, and the low thermal durability of PVA were improved by cross-linking and hydrogen bonding of the functional groups between alginate and PVA. Addition of cardanol to the alginate-based PVA blend significantly improved the antibacterial activity against S. aureus and E. coli. The antibacterial performance was excellent with a death rate of 98% or higher for S. aureus and about 70% for E. coli at a contact time of 60 minutes. The optimal antibacterial activity of the alginate-PVA blended films was found with a cardanol content range between 0.1 to 0.5 wt%. These results show that cardanol-containing alginate-PVA blended films are suitable for use as various antibacterial materials, including as food packaging.