From Waste to Bioplastics: Microbial Innovations in Biopolymer Production

The accumulation of petroleum-based plastics has created an unprecedented environmental crisis, driving an urgent transition toward a circular bioeconomy. Microbial biopolymers, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), polylactic acid (PLA) precursors, and bacterial cellulose, offer sustainable, biodegradable alternatives to synthetic plastics. However, the commercial viability of these biopolymers remains constrained by the high cost of refined feedstocks and low fermentation yields. Integrating waste biomass, agricultural residues, and industrial side-streams as feedstocks represents a double-win strategy: it reduces raw material costs while valorizing low-value waste, aligning bioplastic production with circular bioeconomy principles.This Research Topic focuses on the latest microbial innovations, metabolic engineering strategies, and bioprocess developments that enable the efficient conversion of complex waste streams into sustainable polymers. We aim to highlight how strain development, synthetic biology, and fermentation optimization can overcome the bottlenecks of inhibitory substances, low conversion rates, and inconsistent polymer quality.We invite original research articles, reviews, perspectives, and methodological papers that bridge the gap between waste valorization and polymer materials science. Relevant areas of interest include:Genetic and metabolic engineering of bacterial, yeast, and fungal strains for high-yield biopolymer production.Valorization of diverse waste streams, including lignocellulosic biomass, agricultural residues, food waste, municipal solid waste, and industrial effluents.Synthetic biology tools and adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE) to improve strain tolerance against waste-derived inhibitors.Co-culture fermentations and microbial consortia designed for the consolidated bioprocessing of complex substrates.Fermentation optimization, bioreactor design, scale-up challenges, and innovative downstream processing for polymer extraction and purification.Techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) of waste-to-polymer processes. Topic editors: Gopal Patel, Suman Lama, Dr Arvind K. Singh Chandel, Neeraj Singh Thakur Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83102/from-waste-to-bioplastics-microbial-innovations-in-biopolymer-production