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This study focused on investigating the feasibility of purifying polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) from mixed culture biomass by alkaline-based chemical treatment. The PHB-containing biomass was enriched on acetate under non-sterile conditions. Alkaline treatment (0.2 M NaOH) together with surfactant SDS (0.2 w/v% SDS) could reach 99% purity, with more than 90% recovery. The lost PHB could be mostly attributed to PHB hydrolysis during the alkaline treatment. PHB hydrolysis could be moderated by increasing the crystallinity of the PHB granules, for example, by biomass pretreatment (e.g. freezing or lyophilization) or by effective cell lysis (e.g. adjusting alkali concentration). The suitability of the purified PHB by alkaline treatment for polymer applications was evaluated by molecular weight and thermal stability. A solvent based purification method was also performed for comparison purposes. As result, PHB produced by mixed enriched cultures was found suitable for thermoplastic applications when purified by the solvent method. While the alkaline method resulted in purity, recovery yield and molecular weight comparable to values reported in literature for PHB produced by pure cultures, it was found unsuitable for thermoplastic applications. Given the potential low cost and favorable environmental impact of this method, it is expected that PHB purified by alkaline method may be suitable for other non-thermal polymer applications, and as a platform chemical.

-The exact knowledge of Drop Size Distributions (DSD) plays a major role in various fields of applications to control and optimise processes as well as reduce waste. In the microbial production of advanced biofuels, oil droplets are produced under turbulent conditions in an aqueous medium containing many surface active components, which might hinder the recovery of the product. Knowledge of DSD is thus essential for process optimisation. This study demonstrates the capability of a photo-optical measurement method for DSD measurement in fermentation broth and in plate separators aimed at cost reduction in the microbial production of advanced biofuels. Measurements were made with model mixtures in a bioreactor, and at the inlet and outlet of a plate separator. In the bioreactor, the method was effective in detecting a broad range of droplet sizes and in differentiating other disperse components (e.g. microbial cells and gas bubbles). In the plate separator, the method was effective in determining the influence of the varied parameters on the separation efficiency.Résumé -Mesure photo-optique in-situ de la distribution des taille des gouttes : applications dans la recherche et l'industrie -La connaissance approfondie de la distribution du diamètre des gouttelettes joue un rôle important dans des diverses applications des contrôles et d'optimisations des processus, de plus elle permet de réduire le gaspillage. Pendant la production microbienne de biocarburants avancés, des gouttelettes d'huiles sont produites sous les effets des turbulences du milieu aqueux contenant beaucoup de substances tensio-actives, ce qui pourrait entraver la récupération du produit. La connaissance de la distribution du diamètre des gouttelettes est donc essentielle pour l'optimisation des processus. Cette étude montre les possibilités offertes par une méthode de mesure photo-optique pour les mesures de la taille des gouttelettes dans des bouillons de fermentations et dans des séparateurs à plaques, ceci vise à réduire les coûts dans la production microbienne de biocarburants avancés. Les mesures ont été effectuées avec des mélanges modèles dans un bioréacteur ainsi qu'à l'entrée et à la sortie d'une plaque de séparation. Dans le bioréacteur, le procédé est efficace dans la détection d'une large gamme de tailles de gouttelettes et dans la différenciation des autres composants dispersés (par exemple des cellules microbiennes et des bulles de gaz). Dans le séparateur à plaque, le procédé est efficace, car il détermine l'influence de différents paramètres sur l'efficacité de la séparation.Oil & Gas Science and Technology -Rev. IFP Energies nouvelles (2017) 72, 14 Ó R.P. Panckow et al., published by IFP Energies nouvelles, 2017 DOI: 10.2516 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. LIST OF SYMBOLS AND/OR NOT...

Integration of crystallization and water removal using membrane technology is being used as a means to improve control over supersaturation generation and, consequently, to improve crystal quality. However, it is not clear yet how water removal, which has a limited window of operation, can be combined with crystallization in case of occurrence of several crystal forms (and, therefore, also a limited window of operation). In this work we evaluated the use of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis for water removal to achieve selective crystallization of L-phenylalanine anhydrate from aqueous solution. Water removal and crystallization were first studied separately, and models were used to define the limits of operation for the coupled system so that the target crystal form and production rate could be achieved. A narrow window of operation was obtained, and it was shown that practical implementation can be difficult due to operation near the limits of the window of operation. Possibilities for widening the window of operation are briefly discussed.