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Green chemistry yields a better plastic

Nature Biotechnology volume 17, pages 960–961 (1999)Cite this article

In almost all production chains, reducing the number of intermediates can improve yield and reduce costs. The same holds true for the synthesis of organic molecules from biological systems. Whereas bacterial fermentation can be used to produce a myriad of useful compounds, including biodegradable plastics such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), synthesis typically relies on a carbon source such as glucose that has been produced and extracted from crop plants. Synthesis of novel compounds directly in plants would thus be, in many cases, the best approach to produce bulk commodity products at low cost. In this issue, Gruys and colleagues1 at Monsanto report an important advance in the application of this strategy. Through the metabolic engineering of plants, they have synthesised a useful biodegradable plastic from the family of PHAs.

For thousands of years, plants have provided humans with useful polymers, such as cellulose fibers from cotton or flax. In the last decades, however, synthetic polymers derived from petroleum, and in particular plastics, have replaced natural polymers in many aspects of our daily lives. However, with the growing awareness that petroleum is a finite resource and that the indestructibility of plastics can be, in many cases, more of a nuisance than a benefit, there has been growing interest in producing biodegradable plastics from renewable resources.

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Figure 1: (A) Synthesis of PHBV by bacterial fermentation using glucose derived from crop plants.

References

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  1. assistant professor at the Institut d'Écologie-Biologie et Physiologie Végétales, Université de Lausanne, Lausanne, CH1015, Switzerland

    Yves Poirier

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  1. Yves Poirier
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Poirier, Y. Green chemistry yields a better plastic. Nat Biotechnol 17, 960–961 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/13652

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