In summary, to introduce PHAs to the global market, there
must first be improvement in fermentation processes with cheap
fatty carbon sources, biopolymers purification technologies, and
the development of recombinant bacteria to lower the price of
PHAs so that it will be close not only to other biomaterials like
polylactide but also to the conventional plastics that are an
essential part of almost all industries. Second, the drawbacks in
the properties of PHAs need to be overcome. The range of their
properties could be extended by producing composites and
blends. This has the potential to make PHAs suitable for many
applications. Several facts speak for PHA-based materials. These
are the potential to innovate new economic opportunities, to
offset limited fossil fuels supplies and to help solve the problem of
waste management. Do PHAs have the chance to be an important
commodity to enhance the comfort and quality of our life? The
United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently
approved P(4HB) for the clinical applications, which is a huge step
forward and suggests a promising future for these biopolymers.
PHAs are likely to meet the requirements of specific market applications
and become the biomaterials of the 21st century. To
make this a reality, the potential of bacterial species and recombinant
strains that can convert plant oils into valuable PHAs should be further studied in the context of PHAs yield, their
properties and the ease of their purification.