Microbial production of biopolymers from the renewable resource wheat straw.

Aims Production of poly-s-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) and the chemical basic compound lactate from the agricultural crop ‘wheat straw’ as a renewable carbon resource. Methods and Results A thermal pressure hydrolysis procedure for the breakdown of wheat straw was applied. By this means, the wheat straw was converted into a partially solubilized hemicellulosic fraction, consisting of sugar monomers, and an insoluble cellulosic fraction, containing cellulose, lignin and a small portion of hemicellulose. The insoluble cellulosic fraction was further hydrolysed by commercial enzymes in monomers. The production of PHB from the sugar monomers originating from hemicellulose or cellulose was achieved by …