| KEYWORD |
Microbial Community Engineering (MCE) for the production of biohydrogen and bioethanol from organic waste matrices
keywords ANAEROBIC DIGESTION, DARK FERMENTATION, MICROBIAL ENGINEERING COMMUNITY
Reference persons BERNARDO RUGGERI
External reference persons carlos.gomezcamacho@polito.it
Research Groups BEAR
Thesis type SPERIMENTALE E MODELLISTICO
Description Microbial Engineering Community (MCE) is a growing field in biotechnology which can be exploited to produce bulk and fine chemicals, bioenergy as well as to implement bioremediation strategies. Engineered or adapted/selected microbial consortia have the potential to advance specialized tasks by resorting to high-order communities’ mechanisms, which are difficult to accomplish with monocultures. On the other hand, Dark fermentation (DF) processes are commonly used in the biotechnology industry to produce biohydrogen and a pool of mixed carboxylic acids and solvents, using typically undefined bacterial consortia. These microorganisms are hydrolytic and fermentative bacteria, that convert sugars and starches into small chain carbohydrates, proteins into amino acids and lipids to glycerol, long-chain and short-chain carboxylic acids, along with the production of H2 and CO2. Traditionally, DF has been coupled to Anaerobic Digestion (AD), mostly in two-stage Anaerobic Digestion (TSAD) systems, recovering both gaseous energy carriers, bio-H2 in the first step and bio-CH4 in the second. The Thesis project aims to select an adequate fermentative microbial consortium able to produce high titres of ethanol in the liquid phase and hydrogen in the gas phase, using as substrate different organic wastes.
Deadline 12/11/2020
PROPONI LA TUA CANDIDATURA