Switching from petro-plastics to microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA): the biotechnological escape route of choice out of the plastic predicament?

Abstract

The benefit of biodegradable “green plastics” over established synthetic plastics from petro-chemistry, namely their complete degradation and safe disposal, makes them attractive for use in various fields, including agriculture, food packaging, and the biomedical and pharmaceutical sector. In this context, microbial polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are auspicious biodegradable plastic-like polyesters that are considered to exert less environmental burden if compared to polymers derived from fossil resources.

Keywords

• bioeconomy
• bioengineering
• biopolyesters
• biopolymers
• downstream processing
• industrial waste
• next generation industrial biotechnology (ngib)
• polyhydroxyalkanoates (pha)
• raw materials
• sustainability