The aim of this study was to use petrochemical wastewater as the source of carbon for the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) in an effort to decrease its cost of production. For this purpose, PHA producing bacteria were isolated from the petrochemical wastewater of Bandar Imam, Iran. The purified colonies were screened for PHA by Sudan Black B and Nile Blue A staining. Among positively stained bacteria, the best PHA producer was selected on the basis of cell growth, PHA content and the monomer composition of PHA. The phenotypic and genotypic identification this isolate showed it to be Bacillus axaraqunsis. The PHA was produced at a cell density of about 9.46 g/l of maximum concentration of 6.33g/l l, corresponding to 66% of cell dry weight. These results showed that B. axaraqunsis BIPC01 could be a potent PHA producer using wastewater for industrial purpose and simultaneously reducing the environmental pollution.
polyhydroxyalkanoate; petrochemical wastewater; Bacillus axaraqunsis; biodegradable polymer; bioplastic
