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Biomaterials from renewable sources: biosurfactants and biopolymers

datacite.subject.fosCiências Naturais::Ciências Químicaspt_PT
dc.contributor.advisorGalletti, Paola
dc.contributor.authorAjao, Victor Olusola
dc.date.accessioned2016-03-14T17:41:08Z
dc.date.available2016-03-14T17:41:08Z
dc.date.issued2015-09-25
dc.date.submitted2015
dc.descriptionDissertação de mestrado, Inovação Quimica e Regulamentação, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2015
dc.description.abstractSurfactants are a wide class of compounds used in a broad spectrum of household and industrial applications. However, two of their main concerns lie in their non-biodegradability and the fact that they are low-dose permanent toxicants in the water ecosystem, arising from the widespread usage. An aspect of this thesis involves the synthesis and biodegradability assessment of a new family of biobased surfactants that could be potential green alternatives to traditional anionic and non-ionic surfactants (e.g. alkylphenol ethoxylate, APE). They were prepared from itaconic acid and fatty amines (molecules industrially obtained from renewable resources) under mild conditions (solventless) and in excellent yields. Biodegradability tests confirmed that many of them are biodegradable. The second part of this thesis is focused on the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from organic renewable resources: paper wastes and microalgae. PHAs are biodegradable, immunological inert and very versatile bioplastics with properties similar to worldwide used petro-based plastics. They have broad applications in many industrial fields: pharma and biomedical, food and beverage packaging, fibres, electronics and automobiles. Recent research on PHAs has focused on developing cost-effective production using low-value or industrial waste as carbon source for PHA-producing bacteria. In this study, pyrolysis oil from paper waste (bio-oil) and aqueous phase obtained from hydrothermal liquefaction of two microalgae species (Scenedesmus almeriensis and Nannochloropsis gaditana) were investigated as substrates for microbial conversions with the aim of PHA production. Both substrates were first upgraded via acidogenic fermentation to obtain liquid streams enriched with volatile fatty acids (VFAs, which are considered excellent platforms for PHA production) and di/triethylcitrates (DEC and TEC, which are value-added chemicals with wide range of applications, e.g. plasticizers). After this step, acidogenic products were extracted and used for PHA production in a subsequent aerobic fermentation.pt_PT
dc.description.sponsorshipEuropean Commission: scholarship funded within the Erasmus+ KA1 Programme, ref. 2013-0241 - Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree in Chemical Innovation and Regulation.pt_PT
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/7855
dc.language.isoengpt_PT
dc.subjectBiopolímerospt_PT
dc.subjectBiossurfactantespt_PT
dc.subjectAmbientept_PT
dc.subjectPHAs (Polihidroxialcanoato)pt_PT
dc.titleBiomaterials from renewable sources: biosurfactants and biopolymerspt_PT
dc.typemaster thesis
dspace.entity.typePublication
rcaap.rightsopenAccesspt_PT
rcaap.typemasterThesispt_PT
thesis.degree.grantorUniversidade do Algarve. Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia
thesis.degree.levelMestre
thesis.degree.nameMestrado em Inovação Quimica e Regulamentaçãopt_PT

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