Intracellular storage of acetate/starch mixture by fast growing microbial culture in sequencing batch reactor under continuous feeding

The paper evaluated intracellular storage formation in fast growing microbial culture fed with acetate/starch mixture under continuous feeding. Three parallel laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) were operated at a sludge age of 2 days: one of the SBRs was fed with acetate/starch mixture and the other two with acetate and starch, respectively, for comparing the results with single substrate systems. Despite continuous feeding, both acetate and starch components in the substrate mixture were partially converted to storage biopolymers. Poly-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) and glycogen pools were formed during SBR operation at steady state. Only a limited fraction of 12% of the acetate fed during each cycle generated PHB storage while the rest was directly utilized for microbial growth. Around half of the starch fraction of the substrate mixture was converted to glycogen. Increasing the sludge age to 8 days did not affect storage stoichiometry both for acetate and starch in the mixture. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.