Polyhydroxyalkanoates in packaging

Abstract

Synthetic plastics have been very well recognized for the packaging industry. An evident inclination towards development of biodegradable Bioplastics based on biological material and, particularly for bulk packaging applications has been perceived as a strategy to overcome the dependency of packaging sector on fossil fuels and diminish the biospheric plastic waste burden. The packaging industry demands the raw material in quantity and quality both. Quality includes properties such as ample tensile strength, less brittleness, adequate gas, aroma, ultra-violet (UV) and water barrier properties as per the product to be packaged. The inherent hydrophobicity, biodegradability and enormous property range has branded the microbial poly (hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) as promising competitors of petro-plastics in the packaging market. This chapter addresses the basic characteristics and alluring advantages of PHAs as packaging materials. The major focus has been on discussing recent developments of PHAs in different material forms of specific relevance to packaging sector.