Industrial Production
In the industrial production of PHA, the polyester is extracted and purified from the bacteria by optimizing the conditions of microbial fermentation of sugar or glucose.
In the 1980s, Imperial Chemical Industries developed poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) obtained via fermentation that was named "Biopol". It was sold under the name "Biopol" and distributed in the U.S. by Monsanto and later Metabolix.
As raw material for the fermentation, carbohydrates such as glucose and sucrose can be used, but also vegetable oil or glycerine from biodiesel production. Researchers in industry are working on methods with which transgenic crops will be developed that express PHA synthesis routes from bacteria and so produce PHA as energy storage in their tissues. Another group of researchers at Micromidas is working to develop methods of producing PHA from municipal waste water.
PHAs are processed mainly via injection molding, extrusion and extrusion bubbles into films and hollow bodies.
Read more about this topic: Polyhydroxyalkanoates
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