Synopses & Reviews
The investigation and development of plastics synthesized by bacteria is receiving great attention also due to the raising petroleum prices and many environmental concerns related to plastic pollution. Recent results and studies of the properties and various applications of bio-based plastics are presented in this volume. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a biodegradable compound, is treated in several chapters: PHAs as energy and intracellular carbon storage compounds, the metabolic engineering of PHA producers, the development of tailor-made PHAs including uncommon monomers, microbial PHA production from waste raw materials, PHA polyesters produced by both wild-type and recombinant bacteria and the production of medium-chain-length PHAs in pseudomonads. Further microbial plastics discussed are lactic acid and its polymer polylactic acid (PLA), succinic acid and its polymer polybutylene succinate (PBS), ethylene from ethanol and its polymer polyethylene, 1,3-propandiol as well as poly(p-phenylene) (PPP).
Review
From the reviews: "The editor and the authors have produced an excellent up-to date compendium on biopolymers that will undoubtedly attract a large audience. This excellent text book will be extremely useful for students, young and senior researchers in the field of life sciences ... . useful reference for scientists of all branches of microbiological sciences ... . It should be on the shelves of all libraries at universities, research institutes and biotechnological companies and is further strongly recommended to all those who are interested in life science." (Uta Breuer, Biotechnology Journal, Vol. 5, 2010)
Synopsis
Due to the rising price of petroleum and many environmental concerns, the development of plastics synthesized by bacteria is gaining a lot of attention. This book presents recent results and studies of the properties and applications of bio-based plastics.