Microbial Production of Biopolymer Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB): Current Challenges and its Application

Abstract

Plastics are suitable for many industrial applications as they are inexpensive, sturdy, resistant to deterioration and highly versatile. As advantageous as plastics made from petroleum are, it remains the most major topic of concern among environmentalists and the scientists. Polyhydroxyalkanoates are biodegradable polyesters produced by a wide range of microbes as a source of energy for metabolism, carbon, and oxidoreduction; since they exhibit some properties, which are remarkably similar to those of polyolefins derived from fossil fuels. The literature review conducted over the past decade reveals that polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) has the potential physical qualities for food packaging material, single-use plastic goods and medicinal sectors. Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a bacterial biopolymer that has begun to replace petrochemical plastics due to the present trend towards the efficient utilisation of relatively cheaper substrates for its production. This review discusses explicitly the developments in the analysis of microbial biopolymer PHB and additionally provides an outline of current industrial applications, Production, Extraction methods, genes involved, microbes that are capable of producing PHB, challenges faced during production and degradation of PHB.