Abstract

Since the establishment of World Commission on Environment and Development 30 years ago (1984) the pursuit of sustainability for human society has slowly climbed the agenda of governments, world citizens and business. The scientific community has and is attempting to develop greater understanding of earth processes to mitigate against changes of the global climate. Interwoven with climate change is the knowledge that human activity also affects air quality, food and water we consume, finite resources we expend, and our effect on plants and animals that share our globe. There is a direct link between economic growth and the generation of waste by society. Polymers make up a significant portion of the waste modern society generates. Polymers are for the most part made from non renewable (fossil based resources). Society needs to find alternative starting materials to make polymers as well as producing polymers that are biodegradable, and production processes that are sustainable. Replacing existing fossil based polymers and finding new applications for new polymers is a huge challenge that requires foresight and new thinking. The challenges that face society are thus great and the integrated activity of the research community, business, and society at large is needed in order to address these challenges. Microbial production of biological polymers is one of the many ways that scientists are investigating in order to address the global sustainable issue of polymer production. Fundamental understanding of the production routes within a microorganism as well as the factors affecting its production are key elements of technological development. That fundamental understanding allows for more robust technological development both in production efficiency and polymer property control, two critical factors that industrialists seek in order to minimize cost and maximize reproducibility of the product they sell. The development of applications for biopolymers should go hand in hand with production processes as this will speed up development of applications of the polymer. I will present work about my research into understanding microbial biopolymer production and application of that microbial biopolymer polyhydroxyalkanoate.