Patent ID: 7579176

Claim:
A process for the production of a polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) from one or more metabolically toxic and growth-inhibiting volatile organic compounds (VOCS), comprising: a) providing one or more non-methane VOCs; b) providing one or more first microorganisms capable of oxidizing said one or more VOCs to produce an oxidized compound, wherein said first microorganisms are methane-oxidizing microorganisms, and wherein said one or more first microorganisms do not use said one or more VOCs as a source of carbon or energy, and wherein said one or more VOCs inhibits the growth of said one or more first microorganisms, and is thereby metabolically toxic; c) providing one or more second microorganisms capable of incorporating a carbon contained within said oxidized compound into a PHA material, wherein said second microorganisms are PHA-synthesizing microorganisms; d) providing a growth-culture medium that regulates the metabolism of said one or more first microorganisms and said one or more second microorganisms; e) exposing said one or more first microorganisms in said growth-culture medium to said one or more VOCs, thereby causing or allowing said one or more first microorganisms to convert said one or more VOCS into said oxidized compound; f) increasing the availability of copper to said one or more first microorganisms, thereby causing said one or more first microorganisms to produce particulate methane monooxygenase; g) contacting said oxidized compound with said second microorganisms; and h) manipulating said growth-culture medium to cause or allow said one or more second microorganisms to use said carbon contained within said oxidized compound for the production of said PHA material, thereby using a metabolically toxic, growth-inhibiting VOC to produce said PHA material.