Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate production and management of cardboard industry effluent by new Bacillus sp. NA10

Abstract Background In the present study, we aim to utilize the ecological diversity of soil for the isolation and screening for poly β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB)-accumulating bacteria and production of cost-effective bioplastic using cardboard industry effluent. Results A total of 120 isolates were isolated from different soil samples and a total of 62 isolates showed positive results with Nile blue A staining, a specific dye for PHB granules and 27 isolates produced PHB using cardboard industry effluent. The selected isolate NA10 was identified as Bacillus sp. NA10 by studying its morphological, biochemical, and molecular characteristics. The growth pattern for the microorganism was studied by logistic model and exactly fitted in the model. A maximum cell dry weight (CDW) of 7.8 g l−1 with a PHB concentration of 5.202 g l−1 was obtained when batch cultivation was conducted at 37°C for 72 h, and the PHB content was up to 66.6% and productivity was 0.072 g l−1 h−1 in 2.0 L fermentor. Chemical characterization of the extracted PHB was done by H1NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis to determine the structure, melting point, and molecular mass of the purified PHB. The polymer sheet of extracted polymer was prepared by blending the polymer with starch for packaging applications. Conclusions The isolate NA10 can be a good candidate for industrial production of PHB from cardboard industry waste water cost-effectively and ecofriendly.