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Disposable Bioplastics
Summary
This review describes disposable bioplastics—biodegradable polymers produced from renewable resources and degraded by microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, and algae—as an alternative to synthetic plastics that contribute an estimated 3 million tons of microplastics to the environment annually. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), synthesizable by over 300 bacterial species, are highlighted as the most studied class, with applications in packaging, drug delivery, 3D printing, and textiles. High production costs remain the primary barrier to commercialization, though use of microbial systems and waste-derived substrates could reduce them.
Synthetic plastic has become a part of life because we totally depend on synthetic plastics due to remarkable applications in daily life. Its recycling process is very time-consuming and slow. Synthetic plastics are causing serious impairment to the aquatic species as 3 million tons of microplastics (smaller than 3 mm) are releasing into the environment every year, posing harmful effects to biodiversity. Biodegradable polymers are disposable plastics that are produced by many renewable resources without harming the environment. Disposable bioplastics are polymers degraded by microorganisms, like bacteria, fungi, and algae in terms of biodegradability. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are the most-studied biodegradable plastics and can be synthesized by using more than 300 bacterial species and a wide range of archaea. Disposable plastics have astonishing properties, like biodegradability, biocompatibility, thermoplastic, mechanical properties, and many more. They have applications in packaging materials, drug delivery methods, and animal nutritional supplements, 3D printing materials, textile, and medicinal industries, chemicals, and biofuels industry. The main challenge in commercializing bioplastic is its production and extraction cost. It takes a huge investment to produce bioplastics as it needs sophisticated bio-based materials and developed strategies like fermentation or biorefineries. But its cost can be reduced by using microbes and substrates coming from waste materials.