Claims
- 1. A process for separating polyhydroxyalkanoate from a biomass comprising the polyhydroxyalkanoate, the process comprising extracting the polyhydroxyalkanoate with at least one PHA solvent selected from the group consisting of acetone, benzene, butyl acetate, butyl propionate, diethyl carbonate, diethylformamide, dimethyl carbonate, dimethyl sulfoxide, dimethylformamide, ethyl acetate, methyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone, toluene, xylene, and mixtures thereof; wherein the polyhydroxyalkanoate has a melt temperature of about 80.degree. C. or higher.
- 2. The process of claim 1, wherein the PHA solvent is selected from the group consisting of acetone, methyl acetate, toluene, methyl ethyl ketone, ethyl acetate and mixtures thereof.
- 3. The process of claim 2, wherein the PHA solvent is acetone.
- 4. The process of claim 2, wherein the PHA solvent is ethyl acetate.
- 5. The process of claim 1, wherein the biomass is plant material.
- 6. The process of claim 1, wherein the biomass is bacteria.
- 7. The process of claim 5, wherein the polyhydroxyalkanoate comprises at least two randomly repeating monomer units, wherein the first randomly repeating monomer unit has the structure ##STR4## wherein R.sup.1 is H or C.sub.1 to C.sub.2 alkyl, and n is 1 or 2; the second randomly repeating monomer unit has the structure ##STR5## wherein R.sup.2 is C.sub.3 to C.sub.19 alkyl or C.sub.3 to C.sub.19 alkenyl; and wherein at least 50% of the randomly repeating monomer units have the structure of the first randomly repeating monomer unit.
- 8. The process of claim 5, wherein the plant material further comprises oil; wherein the process comprises:
- a) treating the plant material with the PHA solvent;
- b) removing any insoluble plant material, thereby leaving behind a solution of polyhydroxyalkanoate and oil dissolved in the PHA solvent;
- c) removing the PHA solvent from the solution, thereby resulting in precipitation of the polyhydroxyalkanoate in the oil; and
- d) removing the oil, thereby leaving behind the polyhydroxyalkanoate.
- 9. The process of claim 1, wherein the polyhydroxyalkanoate comprises the following repeating unit: ##STR6## wherein R is preferably H, alkyl or alkenyl; and m is from about 1 to about 4.
- 10. The process of claim 9, wherein the PHA solvent is ethyl acetate.
- 11. The process of claim 8, wherein the polyhydroxyalkanoate comprises at least two randomly repeating monomer units, wherein the first randomly repeating monomer unit has the structure ##STR7## wherein R.sup.1 is H or C.sub.1 to C.sub.2 alkyl, and n is 1 or 2; the second randomly repeating monomer unit has the structure ##STR8## wherein R.sup.2 is C.sub.3 to C.sub.19 alkyl or C.sub.3 to C.sub.19 alkenyl; and wherein at least 50% of the randomly repeating monomer units have the structure of the first randomly repeating monomer unit.
- 12. The process of claim 5, wherein the plant material further comprises oil, wherein the process comprises:
- a) treating the plant material with the PHA solvent;
- b) removing any insoluble plant material, thereby leaving behind a solution of polyhydroxyalkanoate and oil dissolved in the PHA solvent;
- c) treating the solution with a PHA precipitant, thereby resulting in precipitation of the polyhydroxyalkanoate;
- d) removing the PHA precipitant, the PHA solvent and the oil dissolved therein, thereby leaving behind the polyhydroxyalkanoate.
- 13. The process of claim 12, wherein the polyhydroxyalkanoate comprises at least two randomly repeating monomer units, wherein the first randomly repeating monomer unit has the structure ##STR9## wherein R.sup.1 is H or C.sub.1 to C.sub.2 alkyl, and n is 1 or 2; the second randomly repeating monomer unit has the structure ##STR10## wherein R.sup.2 is C.sub.3 to C.sub.19 alkyl or C.sub.3 to C.sub.19 alkenyl; and wherein at least 50% of the randomly repeating monomer units have the structure of the first randomly repeating monomer unit.
- 14. The process of claim 12, wherein the PHA precipitant is diethyl ether, ethanol, fat, heptane, hexane, methanol, oil, triglyceride, water, or mixtures thereof.
- 15. The process of claim 12, further comprising stripping the PHA solvent and the PHA precipitant from the oil.
- 16. The process of claim 5, wherein the plant material further comprises oil, wherein the process comprises:
- a) treating the plant material with an oil solvent that does not dissolve the polyhydroxyalkanoate;
- b) removing the oil solvent and the oil dissolved therein;
- c) treating the biomass with the PHA solvent;
- d) removing any insoluble plant material, thereby leaving behind a solution of PHA solvent and PHA dissolved therein; and
- e) stripping the PHA solvent from the solution, thereby leaving behind polyhydroxyalkanoate.
- 17. The process of claim 16, wherein the PHA solvent is acetone.
- 18. The process of claim 16, wherein the PHA solvent is ethyl acetate.
- 19. The process of claim 16, wherein the oil solvent is butane, diethyl ether, diglyceride, ethanol, fat, heptane, hexane, methanol, monoglyceride, octane, oil having a different grade than the oil from the plant material, pentane, triglyceride, or mixtures thereof.
- 20. The process of claim 16, wherein the polyhydroxyalkanoate comprises at least two randomly repeating monomer units, wherein the first randomly repeating monomer unit has the structure ##STR11## wherein R.sup.1 is H or C.sub.1 to C.sub.2 alkyl, and n is 1 or 2; the second randomly repeating monomer unit has the structure ##STR12## wherein R.sup.2 is C.sub.3 to C.sub.19 alkyl or C.sub.3 to C.sub.19 alkenyl; and wherein at least 50% of the randomly repeating monomer units have the structure of the first randomly repeating monomer unit.
- 21. The polyhydroxyalkanoate extracted by the process of claim 1.
- 22. The polyhydroxyalkanoate extracted by the process of claim 8.
- 23. The polyhydroxyalkanoate extracted by the process of claim 12.
- 24. The polyhydroxyalkanoate extracted by the process of claim 16.
Parent Case Info
This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/601,316, filed on Feb. 16, 1996, now abandoned; which is a nonprovisional application of provisional application Ser. No. 60/002,578, filed on Aug. 21, 1995.
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Continuations (1)
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Date |
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601316 |
Feb 1996 |
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