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    Rights statement: This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Chemical Engineering Journal. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Chemical Engineering Journal, 334, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2017.11.107

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Thermoplastic starch wastes are converted and stored into acetone through butanol in a depressurised digester

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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>15/02/2018
<mark>Journal</mark>Chemical Engineering Journal
Volume334
Number of pages13
Pages (from-to)1550-1562
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date21/11/17
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

A biofilm containing both hydrolytic fermentative bacteria and acidogenic bacteria (including acetogenic and acetoclastic bacteria) was developed for the treatment of plastic wastes in a two-phase, batch digester. The biotransformation and further degradation were electrochemically observed. It was found that the organic wastes were initially fermented in a single-phase (i.e. liquid phase) digester, where it entirely obeyed microbial growth kinetics in accumulating acetate. As the carbonates produced were vaporised, the single-phase became a two-phase fermentation (gas and liquid) accumulating volatile fatty acids (VFAs), where it obeyed a proton driving force based on Le Chatelier’s principle. Interestingly, as the digester was depressurised to the saturated vapour pressure of water, the accumulated VFAs were rapidly transformed into acetone via butanol, so that the VFAs forms were not observable. It was found that in extreme conditions, the organic feeds were converted and stored into acetone, via butanol.

Bibliographic note

This is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Chemical Engineering Journal. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Chemical Engineering Journal, 334, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2017.11.107