The Integration of Textile Wastewater Treatment with Polyhydroxyalkanoate Production Using Newly Isolated Enterobacter Strain TS3

Textile wastewater (TW) from the Ban Phraek Weaving Group, Phatthalung, Thailand, showed high carbon (6405 mg/L) and nitrogen (54 mg/L) contents and a pH of 6.92, which, if not treated, will affect the environment. Newly isolated Enterobacter strain TS3 isolated from TW was used for TW treatment and PHA production under simultaneous batch conditions. The optimal conditions for the production of PHA by strain TS3 were as follows: 100% TW as the sole substrate, pH 6.92, 150 rpm, 35 °C, and 48 h of incubation at 83.94 ± 2.72% CDM (0.34 ± 0.02 g/L). The characterization of the extracted biopolymer proves the presence of short˗chain˗length˗co˗medium˗chain˗ length PHA (scl˗co˗mcl PHA) by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC˗MS). This is the first report on Enterobacter TS3, which can produce scl˗co˗mcl PHA using TW as a substrate. Moreover, the treated wastewater after PHA cultivation met the criteria of the Water Quality Standard (Thailand). Graphic Abstract