Thermally Stable P(3HB) Synthesis from Cane Molasses by Co-culture of Alcaligenes sp. NCIM 5085 and Bacillus subtilis

The co-culture approach has been discovered to be more efficient over isolated in carbon uptake, growth of bacteria and Poly(3-hydroxybutyrete) (P(3HB)) productivity. The current study focused on synthesis of P(3HB) from a co-culture of Alcaligenes sp. NCIM 5085 and Bacillus subtilis s and characterizing the recovered P(3HB) for better packaging applications. The enzymatic reactions mechanism possible was identified. The obtained P(3HB) was structurally analyzed using GCMS, FTIR, 1 HNMR and 13 CNMR. The peak observed at 1720.06 cm −1 on FTIR spectra indicates the existence of the C=O group, that is a defined marker of P(3HB). Subsequent NMR and GCMS investigation verified that the obtained polymer is P(3HB). The DSC analysis revealed the melting point ( T melt ), crystallization temperature ( T c ) and glass transient temperature ( T g ) of polymer 172.5 °C, 100 °C and − 6.8 °C, respectively, which are within the normal P(3HB) range. The TGA- DTG indicated the thermal degradation temperature ( T degr ) of synthesized P(3HB) was 254.5 °C and major weight loss was observed between 180 and 300 °C. As a result, it can be established that the synthesized P(3HB) seems to be more resistant to thermal degradation than the conventional P(3HB). The investigation imply that developing a bacteria co-culture technique seems to be a potential approach for such effective synthesis of valuable biopolymers from agricultural waste.