Galletti, PaolaAjao, Victor Olusola2016-03-142016-03-142015-09-252015http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/7855Dissertação de mestrado, Inovação Quimica e Regulamentação, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2015Surfactants 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.engBiopolímerosBiossurfactantesAmbientePHAs (Polihidroxialcanoato)master thesis