Biopolymer Production from Wastewater Sludges for Encapsulation and Other Applications

摘要

The main purpose of the research is to determine the feasibility of producing biopolymers from waste sludges by growing suitable microorganisms on the sludge hydrolysate. Primary and secondary municipal sludges and a bakery waste sludge were used in the study. Enzymatic hydrolysis was found to be ineffective in producing a substrate suitable for the growth of Aureobasidium pullulans (A. pullulans). High pressure acid hydrolysis of municipal sludge tended to yield a better substrate in terms of pullulan yield than low pressure acid hydrolysis. Acid hydrolysis of the bakery waste sludge resulted in a fermentation medium that was highly conductive to the growth of A. pullulans and pullulan elaboration. The feasibility of employing pullulan as a carrier material in the controlled-release of pesticides on stored grains was examined by determining the effect of pullulan-chlorpyrifos-methyl encapsulates on the mortality rate of flour beetles (Tribolilum castaneum).