Microbial Fermentation

To understand the impact of PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate) polymers or plastics, we must understand society’s needs for plastics. Society favors plastic over more traditional materials like paper, steel, and aluminum because of its many advantages: keeping food safe, protecting products in shipping, and replacing heavy materials. Responsible consumers want the plastic to be easy to dispose of at the end of its usefulness, preferring that it minimize the use of “non-renewable” resources like fossil fuels and not persist in the environment.

Methods for making various types of PHAs are becoming well understood due to intense efforts by scientists in assessing metabolic pathways. Scientists can use different microorganisms and different feedstocks to create a cellular factory that efficiently produces the right polymer within the cells of the microbes.