Polyhydroxyalkanoates: a review of microbial production and technology application

Plastics of petrochemical origin are materials difficult to degrade, and they have caused environmental impacts. The development of new biotechnological strategies for the production of bioplastics has attracted the attention of researchers all over the world, enabling the production of economically more viable, biodegradable materials with different possibilities of application in various industrial sectors. The polyhydroxyalkanoates are biopolymers with physicochemical properties similar to those of polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyethylene commonly used by the industry. These bioplastics can be biosynthesized by various microorganisms and accumulate polyhydroxyalkanoates granules intracellularly. The high cost of polyhydroxyalkanoates production is still a limiting factor for its large-scale production, and the costs associated with the carbon source used are one of the reasons that increase the price of the product. This review discusses the main factors associated with polyhydroxyalkanoates production, providing an overview of the different attempts to produce the biopolymer from the use of low-cost substrates and the development of different fermentation strategies for the production of these polymers.