Spatola Rossi T., Francescato L., Gupte A.P., Favaro L., Treu L., Campanaro S. Harnessing the potential of Cupriavidus necator for CO₂ capture from alcoholic fermentation and its bioconversion into poly-3-hydroxybutyrate. Bioresource technology (under review, 2024).
CooCE partners involved: UNIPD

A new study by UNIPD partners is under review for publication in Bioresource Technology. The work, led by Dr. Tatiana Spatola Rossi, investigates the growth and PHB accumulation in C. necator DSM545 using sustainable carbon sources which are by-products of wine production. Heterotrophic growth using grape marc, and autotrophic growth using CO₂ produced during alcoholic fermentation were tested. Results show that C. necator is able to grow on both by-products, and accumulates PHB at 56% of cell dry weight under nitrogen starvation. Additionally, different concentrations of CO₂ in the headspace, different nitrogen concentrations in the medium and different agitation set-ups were tested in order to obtain the maximum CO₂ uptake rates with concurrent PHB production in a fed-batch bottle system.