New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Plastic fantastic: The future of biodegradables

Date:
October 17, 2011
Source:
BioMed Central
Summary:
Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a thermoplastic polyester which occurs naturally in bacteria as Ralstonia eutropha and Bacillus megaterium. Even though PHB is biodegradable and is not dependent on fossil resources, this bioplastic has been traditionally too expensive to produce to replace petroleum-based plastics. New research describes an alternative method of producing PHB in microalgae.
Share:
FULL STORY

Poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a thermoplastic polyester which occurs naturally in bacteria as Ralstonia eutropha and Bacillus megaterium. Even though PHB is biodegradable and is not dependent on fossil resources, this bioplastic has been traditionally too expensive to produce to replace petroleum-based plastics.

New research reported in BioMed Central's open access journal Microbial Cell Factories describes an alternative method of producing PHB in microalgae.

PHB is synthesised in bacteria from acetyl-CoA using the enzymes ß-ketothiolase, acetoacetyl-CoA reductase and PHB synthase. The genes coding for these proteins were inserted into a diatom (Phaeodactylum tricornutum) resulting in expression of the enzymes and synthesis of PHB in cytosolic granules. After only seven days, about 10% of the dried weight of the diatoms was PHB.

Dr. Franziska Hempel and Prof Uwe Maier from the LOEWE-Centre Synmikro in Marburg, and Prof Alexander Steinbüchel from Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, explained, "Millions of tons of petroleum-based plastic are consumed every year worldwide causing immense amounts of waste that can take thousands of years to biodegrade -- if at all. Bacterial fermentation is expensive and while people have introduced a similar system into plants, plants are relatively slow growing and biofuel agriculture uses up valuable land. P. tricornutum needs little more than light and water to grow and can produce similar amounts of PHB to the plant systems in weeks rather than months."

In the quest to find biodegradable and renewable sources of plastics these photosynthetic bioreactors may well provide an answer.


Story Source:

Materials provided by BioMed Central. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Franziska Hempel, Andrew S. Bozarth, Nicole Lindenkamp, Andreas Klingl, Stefan Zauner, Uwe Linne, Alexander Steinbuchel and Uwe G. Maier. Microalgae as bioreactors for bioplastic production. Microbial Cell Factories, 2011 (in press) [abstract]

Cite This Page:

BioMed Central. "Plastic fantastic: The future of biodegradables." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 October 2011. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111016212021.htm>.
BioMed Central. (2011, October 17). Plastic fantastic: The future of biodegradables. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 29, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111016212021.htm
BioMed Central. "Plastic fantastic: The future of biodegradables." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111016212021.htm (accessed March 29, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES