• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.352-356
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• 1996

Alcoholic distillery wastes are utilized as dual purposes to produce PHB in lower production cost and to reduce the amount of waste to be treated. In this study, various attempts were made to increase PHB production under various conditions by Actinobacillus sp. EL-9 in a shaker culture. The addition of glucose, NH$_{4}$NO$_{3}$ to alcoholic distillery wastes slightly promoted cell mass and PHB production. Enzyme hydrolysis of alcoholic distillery wastes increased the production of PHB than that of untreated waste and acid hydrolysis treatment. The PHB weight in alcoholic distillery wastes was 1.91 g/l. Fermentation process of PHB production reduced the amount of COD value up to 54%, which reduced organic loading rate and capacity of activated sludge system.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.344-351
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• 1996

Microorganisms growing alcoholic distillery wastes were isolated from soil. Of them, the selected strain EL-9 had a capability of accumulating poly-$\beta$-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) when grown in alcoholic distillery wastes. The strain EL-9 was identified as a genus Actinobacillus based on the morphological, cultural, and biochemical characteristics. The strain EL-9 was named temporarily as Actino- bacillus sp. EL-9. The optimal temperature and pH for cell growth of Actinobacillus sp. EL-9 were 30$\circ$C and 7.0, respectively. The optimal medium compositions for cell growth comprised glucose 2%, NH$_{4}$NO$_{3}$ 0.15%, Na$_{2}$HP0$_{4}$-12H$_{2}$O 0.25%, KH$_{2}$PO$_{4}$ 0.25%, MgSO$_{4}$4-7H$_{2}$O 0.15%, FeSO$_{4}$-7H$_{2}$O 0.005%, CaCl$_{2}$-2H$_{2}$O 0.003% and trace element solution 5m/l. To investigate the optimal conditions for PHB production, two-stage culture technique was used. The result showed that the optimal conditions for PHB production are identical those for cell growth. When propionic acid was added as a cosubstrate, PHB/HV copolymer was produced.