Efficient biodegradation of organic matter using a thermophilic bacterium and development of a cost-effective culture medium for industrial use

Abstract

Microorganisms with efficient organic matter degradation ability are essential for organic waste treatment. In this study, a thermophilic bacterium, Bacillus thermoliquefaciens, was identified to have excellent cellulase, amylase, and protease activity, and provided efficient degradation of food waste. This is the first report on the organic matter degradation potential of B. thermoliquefaciens. Using a “one-variable-at-a-time” approach and response surface methodology, the optimal culture conditions for B. thermoliquefaciens were determined to be a 5% inoculation level, 50 °C culture temperature, 25 mL filling volumes in 250 mL flasks, and 180 rpm shaking for 24 h. The optimized medium was formulated as 1 g Na₂HPO₄, 1 g KH₂PO₄, 0.05 g MgSO₄, 3 g NaCl, 0.05 g CaCl₂, 11.44 g wheat bran powder, 4.92 g soybean meal, and 1 L distilled water at pH 7.12. The maximum biomass attained was 1.57 ± 0.153 × 10⁹ CFU/mL. The cost of this medium was 4.18 times less than that before optimization. This promising result lays a foundation for future industrial application of this bacterium to the degradation of organic waste.

Keywords:

• Bacillus thermoliquefaciens
• organic matter biodegradation
• organic waste treatment
• response surface methodology
• cheap culture medium

Conflict of interest statement

There is no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

We acknowledge the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFD0401201) for financial and technical support.