Degradation of Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA): a Review

Abstract

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is an attractive material due to its mechanical properties and biodegradability. As a result of its ability to degrade naturally in the environment, utilization of PHA is a step closer towards a greener environment with the aim of reducing the dependency on the non-degradable synthetic plastic. PHA is degraded by microorganisms that could secrete extracellular PHA depolymerase. Besides that, other factors that could affect the degradation of PHA include the environmental condition and the properties of PHA such as composition, crystallinity, additives and surface area of the PHA. This review provides a summary of intracellular and extracellular degradation, factors affecting the degradation of PHA and the application of PHA degradation

Keywords

• PHA
• degradation
• PHA depolymerase