Poly(hydroxyalkanoate)s from Waste Biomass: A Combined Chemical-Biological Approach

Abstract

The synthesis of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) utilizing methane and alkenoates derived from recycled PHAs is reported. Medium-chain length (C-6 - C-9) and short-chain length (C-4 - C-5) polyhydroxyalkanoates were catalytically pyrolyzed to generate a range of 2-alkenoates. The microbial copolymerization of the recovered alkenoates with methane in the presence of methanotrophic bacteria generated poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) homopolymers from even-numbered alkenoates and, significantly, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) copolymers with tunable compositions from odd-numbered alkenoates.