Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a group of bioplastics that have a wide range of applications. Extensive progress has been made in our understanding of PHAs’ biosynthesis, and currently, it is possible to engineer bacterial strains to produce PHAs with desired properties. The substrates for the fermentative production of PHAs are primarily derived from food-based carbon sources, raising concerns over the sustainability of their production in terms of their impact on food prices. This paper gives an overview of the current carbon sources used for PHA production and the methods used to transform these sources into fermentable forms. This allows us to identify the opportunities and restraints linked to future sustainable PHA production. Hemicellulose hydrolysates and crude glycerol are identified as two promising carbon sources for a sustainable production of PHAs. Hemicellulose hydrolysates and crude glycerol can be produced on a large scale during various second generation biofuels’ production. An integration of PHA production within a modern biorefinery is therefore proposed to produce biofuels and bioplastics simultaneously. This will create the potential to offset the production cost of biofuels and reduce the overall production cost of PHAs.

Excessive levels of plastic waste in our oceans and landfills indicate that there is an abundance of potential carbon sources with huge economic value being neglected. These waste plastics, through biological fermentation, could offer alternatives to traditional petrol-based plastics. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are a group of plastics produced by some strains of bacteria that could be part of a new generation of polyester materials that are biodegradable, biocompatible, and, most importantly, non-toxic if discarded. This study introduces the use of prodegraded high impact and general polystyrene (PS0). Polystyrene is commonly used in disposable cutlery, CD cases, trays, and packaging. Despite these applications, some forms of polystyrene PS remain financially and environmentally expensive to send to landfills. The prodegraded PS0 waste plastics used were broken down at varied high temperatures while exposed to ozone. These variables produced PS flakes (PS1–3) and a powder (PS4) with individual acid numbers. Consequently, after fermentation, different PHAs and amounts of biomass were produced. The bacterial strain, Cupriavidus necator H16, was selected for this study due to its well-documented genetic profile, stability, robustness, and ability to produce PHAs at relatively low temperatures. The accumulation of PHAs varied from 39% for prodegraded PS0 in nitrogen rich media to 48% (w/w) of dry biomass with the treated PS. The polymers extracted from biomass were analyzed using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS) to assess their molecular structure and properties. In conclusion, the PS0–3 specimens were shown to be the most promising carbon sources for PHA biosynthesis; with 3-hydroxybutyrate and up to 12 mol % of 3-hydroxyvalerate and 3-hydroxyhexanoate co-monomeric units generated.

In the past decade, poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA)-based micro/nanoparticles have garnered remarkable attention as antimicrobial agents and for drug delivery, owing to their controlled and sustained-release properties, low toxicity, as well as biocompatibility with tissue and cells. γ-PGA is a naturally occurring biopolymer produced by several gram-positive bacteria that, due to its biodegradable, non-toxic and non-immunogenic properties, has been used successfully in the medical, food and wastewater industries. Moreover, its carboxylic group on the side chains can offer an attachment point to conjugate antimicrobial and various therapeutic agents, or to chemically modify the solubility of the biopolymer. The unique characteristics of γ-PGA have a promising future for medical and pharmaceutical applications. In the present review, the structure, properties and micro/nanoparticle preparation methods of γ-PGA and its derivatives are covered. Also, we have highlighted the impact of micro/nanoencapsulation or immobilisation of antimicrobial agents and various disease-related drugs on biodegradable γ-PGA micro/nanoparticles.

An economically viable method to extract polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from cells is desirable for this biodegradable polymer of potential biomedical applications. In this work, two non-chlorinated solvents, cyclohexanone and γ-butyrolactone, were examined for extracting PHA produced by the bacterial strain Cupriavidus necator H16 cultivated on vegetable oil as a sole carbon source. The PHA produced was determined as a poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) homopolyester. The extraction kinetics of the two solvents was determined using gel permeation chromatography (GPC). When cyclohexanone was used as the extraction solvent at 120 °C in 3 min, 95% of the PHB was recovered from the cells with a similar purity to that extracted using chloroform. With a decrease in temperature, the recovery yield decreased. At the same temperatures, the recovery yield of γ-butyrolactone was significantly lower. The effect of the two solvents on the quality of the extracted PHB was also examined using GPC and elemental analysis. The molar mass and dispersity of the obtained polymer were similar to that extracted using chloroform, while the nitrogen content of the PHB extracted using the two new solvents was slightly higher. In a nutshell, cyclohexanone in particular was identified as an expedient candidate to efficiently drive novel, sustainable PHA extraction processes.

We report on the ability of bacteria to produce biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) using oxidized polyethylene wax (O-PEW) as a novel carbon source. The O-PEW was obtained in a process that used air or oxygen as an oxidizing agent. R. eutropha H16 was grown for 48 h in either tryptone soya broth (TSB) or basal salts medium (BSM) supplemented with O-PEW and monitored by viable counting. Study revealed that biomass and PHA production was higher in TSB supplemented with O-PEW compared with TSB only. The biopolymers obtained were preliminary characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gel permeation chromatography (GPC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The detailed structural evaluation at the molecular level was performed by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). The study revealed that, when TSB was supplemented with O-PEW, bacteria produced PHA which contained 3-hydroxybutyrate and up to 3 mol % of 3-hydroxyvalerate and 3-hydroxyhexanoate co-monomeric units. The ESI-MS/MS enabled the PHA characterization when the content of 3-hydroxybutyrate was high and the appearance of other PHA repeating units was very low.

There is an increasing demand for bio-based polymers that are developed from recycled materials. The production of biodegradable polymers can include bio-technological (utilizing microorganisms or enzymes) or chemical synthesis procedures. This report demonstrates the corroboration of the molecular structure of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) obtained by the conversion of waste polyethylene (PE) via non-oxygenated PE wax (N-PEW) as an additional carbon source for a bacterial species. The N-PEW, obtained from a PE pyrolysis reaction, has been found to be a beneficial carbon source for PHA production with Cupriavidus necator H16. The production of the N-PEW is an alternative to oxidized polyethylene wax (O-PEW) (that has been used as a carbon source previously) as it is less time consuming to manufacture and offers fewer industrial applications. A range of molecular structural analytical techniques were performed on the PHAs obtained; which included nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and electrospray ionisation tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Our study showed that the PHA formed from N-PEW contained 3-hydroxybutyrate (HB) with 11 mol% of 3-hydroxyvalerate (HV) units.