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Appl Environ Microbiol. 1986 July; 52(1): 152-156
Copyright © 1986, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Use of a Nylon Manufacturing Waste as an Industrial Fermentation Substrate

Department of Chemical Engineering, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 2A7, Canada

ABSTRACT

Nonvolatile residue (NVR), a waste stream from the manufacture of nylon 6'6', contains mainly small carboxylic acids and alcohols, making it a potential fermentation substrate. Above a concentration of 1.3% (wt/vol), NVR inhibited the growth of all microorganisms tested. The most inhibitory of the major NVR components were the monocarboxylic acids (C₄ to C₆) and -caprolactone. The inhibitory effects of NVR could be avoided by using a carbon-limited chemostat. Microorganisms were found that could use all of the major NVR components as carbon and energy sources. One such organism, Pseudomonas cepacia, was grown in a carbon-limited chemostat with a medium feed concentration of 20.5 g of NVR liter^–1. At a dilution rate of 0.14 h^–1 the yield of biomass (Y_x/s, where x is biomass produced and s is substrate used) from NVR was 18% (neglecting the water content of NVR). It was concluded that NVR would be a suitable carbon source for certain industrial fermentation processes such as the production of poly-ß-hydroxybutyric acid.

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