Valorization of prosecco wine lees for sustainable polyhydroxyalkanoates production by Cupriavidus necator DSM 545 and Hydrogenophaga pseudoflava DSM 1034

Nowadays, in the agricultural and agro-industrial sectors, there is increasing attention on the wine industry. The environmental impact of wine production, particularly in terms of residues generation, is a growing concern. Among generated residues, wine lees, rich in organic matter, phenols compounds, and with low pH, pose environmental challenges due to their disposal requirements. Despite their usage for biogas production and extraction of compounds, such as antioxidants, tartaric acid and ethanol, their potential in bioplastic production, specifically polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), remains largely untapped. This study aims to evaluate the potential use of wine lees as a medium sustaining bacterial growth and PHAs accumulation. Specifically, Cupriavidus necator DSM 545 and Hydrogenophaga pseudoflava DSM 1034, were cultivated in the liquid phase of wine lees obtained from the Prosecco winemaking. On pure distilled wine lees, after mild feedstock pre-treatments, C. necator DSM 545 reached a CDW (cell dry weight) of 2.97 g/L and accumulated PHAs was 1.27 g/L, pair to 42.90 % of CDW. On the same substrate, CDW for H. pseudoflava DSM 1034 was 3.96 g/L and PHAs reached values of 1.60 g/L and 40.42 % CDW. These results obtained on wine lees are similar or even better than those achieved in the control growths of the two strains on pure glucose.

This is the first approach for the utilization of wine lees for PHAs production, highlighting their potential use in the PHAs industry, and offering a sustainable alternative for both residues management and bioplastic production.