Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) Market

According to a recent report by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), 66% of countries worldwide have adopted some form of legislation to regulate the utilization of plastic bags. In comparison, only 8 (4%) of 192 countries assessed have banned the use of microbeads through national laws or regulations. UNEP launched a campaign in 2017 called Clean Seas, and till now, the campaign has garnered a commitment from over 50 countries representing over 60% of the world’s coastlines, including a commitment from India to eliminate single-use plastics by 2022. The European Union has also recently updated the Food Contact Materials Regulation (EU) No. 10/2011 list on January 11, 2019, Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/37, which is expected to boost the use of PHA in the packaging & food services application. Government policies in various regions regarding purchasing sustainable and environment-friendly products (green products) are significant factors driving the market for biodegradable and sustainable PHA-based plastics. For example, in August 2009, all non-biodegradable plastic bags were officially banned in Mexico. Under France’s 2005 Law of Agriculture Policy, the country’s agriculture ministry promotes biodegradable plastics. The table below shows the recent regulations imposed on the usage of conventional plastic products.

One of the key restraints to the market’s growth is the relatively higher cost of PHA than that of conventional polymers. Generally, the cost of production of biodegradable plastics such as PHA is 20% to 80% higher than conventional plastics. This is primarily due to the high cost of polymerization of biodegradable plastics, as most processes are still in the developmental stages. Hence, they have not achieved economies of scale. In general, renewable/biobased technologies and materials are still in the early stages of development and have not been commercialized to the same levels as their petrochemical counterparts. Thus, the high cost of PHA is one of the major restraints to the mass adoption compared to conventional plastics.

Cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, can be used as hosts to produce PHAs. Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a type of PHA. The most important material synthesized by these cyanobacteria is polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), which can replace commodity polymer polypropylene (PP) in many applications, yielding a bio-based, biodegradable alternative solution. Cyanobacteria can produce PHB as an intracellular energy and carbon storage compound. According to a study, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6714 is found to be the cyanobacterium with the highest PHB content. A high PHB content is advantageous for downstream processing in terms of energy efficiency or product quality. The bacteria can produce polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) under chemoheterotrophic and photoautotrophic conditions using carbon sources such as acetate, glucose, and maltose, individually or in combination. According to a study, it is estimated that up to 90% of all PP applications can be covered by PHA and, to a large extent, by PHB and can be used for rigid packaging. A major issue is the downstream processing of cyanobacteria, which can be solved using technologically advanced techniques or genetically modified strains. Using cyanobacteria is a cost-effective method of manufacturing PHA and a sustainable way to utilize the CO2 in the atmosphere to produce biomass.

The current technology is in the developmental stage, and various raw materials are being tested for the optimal production of PHA. Similarly, tests are being carried out to increase the performance of strains that attenuate the demand for PHAs. The recovery of PHA from biomass leads to high costs in purification and processing. Once the technology is finalized with the careful selection of raw materials, biological/natural strains, and purification technology, PHA production is expected to surge significantly. This is only possible if there is widespread production globally. Currently, production is sparsely distributed in the US and China, accounting for almost 90% share of the total PHA production globally. Investments for the large-scale production of PHAs are expected; however, these investments are expected to be distributed unevenly in the market. Most companies involved in the production of PHA are not even medium-sized companies. Therefore, they often lack the funds required for full-fledged production or research. The grants are often very low compared to the required capital. If conglomerates and larger companies start investing in the production of PHA and economies of scale are realized, PHA will be able to compete with petrochemical products.