A simple recovery process for biodegradable plastics accumulated in cyanobacteria treated with ionic liquids

摘要

Here, we proposed a simple recovery process for poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) accumulated in cyanobacteria by using ionic liquids (ILs), which dissolve cyanobacteria but not PHB. First, we investigated the effects of IL polarity on hydrogen-bonding receipt ability (beta value) and hydrogen-bonding donating ability (alpha value) and evaluated the subsequent dissolution of cyanobacteria. We found that ILs having alpha values higher than approximately 0.4 and beta values of approximately 0.9 were suitable for dissolution of cyanobacteria. In particular, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methylphosphonate ([C(2)mim][MeO(H)PO2]) was found to dissolve cyanobacteria components, but not PHB. Thus, we verified that PHB produced in cyanobacteria could be separated and recovered by simple filtering after dissolution of cyanobacteria in [C(2)mim][MeO(H)PO2]. Using this technique, more than 98 % of PHB was obtained on the filter as residues separated from cyanobacteria. Furthermore, [C(2)mim][MeO(H)PO2] maintained the ability to dissolve cyanobacteria after a simple recycling procedure.