Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates from Renewable Sources Using Bacteria

Plastics play a very important role in our daily life. They are used for various purposes. But the disposal of these petrochemical-derived plastics causes a risk to the human and marine population, wildlife and environment. Also, due to the eventual depletion of petrochemical sources, there is a need for the development of alternate sources for the production of plastics. Biodegradable polymers produced by microorganisms can be used as substitutes for conventional plastics derived from petrochemical sources since they have similarity in their properties. Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is one such biopolymer that will be accumulated inside the cells of microorganisms as granules for energy storage under limiting conditions of nutrients and high concentration of carbon. Research on the microbial production of PHA should focus on the identification of cost-effective substrates and also identification of a suitable strain of organism for production. The major focus of this review is the production of PHA from various cost-effective substrates using different bacterial species. The review also covers the biosynthetic pathway of PHA, extraction method, characterization technique, and applications of PHA in various sectors.