PHD THESIS PROPOSAL
2015-2018
PRODUCTION OF PLATFORM MOLECULES FOR SOLID
WASTES VALORIZATION: UNDERSTANDING PHYSICAL
AND BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES FOR THE OPTIMIZATION
OF THE QUALITY OF VFA MIXTURE.
RESEARCHTOPICS
PROJECT
RESEARCH
RESEARCH TOPICS
Context of the study: The global context focuses on environmental bio refinery with
the goal of producing biomolecules for industrial purposes. Valorization of solid
wastes coming from human or industrial activities is an important challenge in the
current environmental context. Fermentation can convert organic wastes into VFAs
and besides VFAs into ethanol, hydrogen gas and other simple organic fermentation
products such as lactate, acetone and succinate. When targeting VFAs, this concept
is called the VFA platform that may bring higher added value than the methane route.
It is thus necessary to be able to produce the desired VFA mixture in an open
process (without sterilization of substrate). Controlling the product spectrum of
anaerobic fermentations is critical because it influences the product quality and
process performance in the subsequent steps of the product chain (bioplastic
production for example, (Albuquerque et al. 2011; Jiang et al. 2011; Cavaille 2015)).
The PhD subject: The objective of the PhD is to understand the biological, physical
and chemical processes occurring in a solid waste bioreactor in order to control VFAs
fermentation and to produce a define VFA mixture with high productivity and taking
into account the relevant industrial constraints.
Lab-scale experiments: a lab-scale pilot of anaerobic fermentation of solid wastes will
be run with various feedstocks and operating conditions. The PhD candidate will
study the selection processes and the distribution of the microbial communities’
activities depending on these operating conditions. Variations in kinetics and
stoichiometry of open anaerobic fermentations will have to be thus understood. This
approach will help to understand the competitive advantage provided for species that
produce the desired compounds and the competitive disadvantage due to inhibitions.
The detailed description of local chemical and biological environments will be hence
required because of the heterogeneity of the solid waste in the reactor.
The experimental results will be used in an appropriate kinetic and metabolic existing
model in order to help understanding and optimizing the various physical and
biological processes.
LABORATORY AND TEAM
The PhD will integrate the “Symbiose” team of the LISBP which has an expertise in
bioprocesses and biotechnologies based on microbial communities for wastewater
and waste treatment, carbon or nutrients valorization or lignocellulose refinery.
PROFILE
The candidate should have the following skills: strong knowledge on biological
reactors and bioprocesses. Ability and a taste for long term experimental work on
laboratory pilot and for modeling.
CONDITIONS
The PhD project will be in the framework of a ministry fellowship i.e. a “Contrat
doctoral” attributed by the doctoral school MEGEP. This position is for 36 months
(starting as soon as possible, maximum end of November 2015).
Salary: around 1300 euros/month.
CONTACTS
Name : Claire DUMAS, CR INRA ; Etienne PAUL, Professeur INSA
Phone : C. Dumas 05-67-04-88-49 ; E. Paul : 06-03-60-63-17
Email : cl_dumas@insa-toulouse.fr ; paul@insa-toulouse.fr