Olive Oil Wastewater as a Renewable Resource for Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates

The use of Olive Mill Effluents (OMEs) (as well as of other agro-industrial wastes) makes it possible to easily obtain PHA copolymers of HB and HV monomers, resulting in a polymer with better physicochemical properties. The HB/HV ratio can be controlled by manipulating the relevant parameters of each stage of the process and, particularly, the acids composition from the fermentation stage. Ongoing research is mainly aimed at fi nding an optimal tradeoff between the high process performance (in terms of rate and yield of PHA production) and the PHA composition and properties for downstream processing. Process optimization at a higher scale and capacity is required to increase the potential for industrial application.