Microalgae in Bioplastic Production: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

The current era of industrialization includes a constantly increasing demand for plastic products, but because plastics are rarely recycled and are not biodegradable plastic pollution or “white pollution” has been the result. The consumption of petroleum-based plastics will be 20% of global annual oil by 2050, and thus there is an inevitable need to find an innovative solution to reduce plastic pollution. The biodegradable and environmentally benign bioplastics are suitable alternative to fossil-based plastics in the market due to sustainability, less carbon footprint, lower toxicity and high degradability rate. Microalgal species is an innovative approach to be explored and improved for bioplastic production. Microalgae are generally present in abundant quantity in our ecosystem, and polysaccharide in the algae can be processed and utilized to make biopolymers. Also, these species have a high growth rate and can be easily cultivated in wastewater streams. The review aims to determine the recent status of bioplastic production techniques from microalgal species and also reveal optimization opportunities involved in the process. Several strategies for bioplastic production from algal biomass are being discussed nowadays, and the most prominent are “with blending” (blending of algal biomass with bioplastics and starch) and “without blending” (microalgae as a feedstock for polyhydroxyalkanoates production). The advanced research on modern bioengineering techniques and well-established genetic tools like CRISPR–Cas9 should be encouraged to develop recombinant microalgae strains with elevated levels of PHA/PHB inside the cell.

Seaweed-based polysaccharides – review of extraction, characterization, and bioplastic application

“…Poor water-resistance properties may hinder the practical applications of bioplastics, requiring further attention and improvement in this aspect. 242…”

The Microalgae <em>Chlamydomonas </em>for Bioremediation and Bioproduct Production

“…Bioplastics are biodegradable materials derived from renewable biomass sources, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional plastics [123]. Various molecules can be used as building blocks for bioplastics, including polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), starch, TAG, lactic acid, or polybutylene succinate.…”

Algal-based bioplastics: global trends in applied research, technologies, and commercialization

“…5 a), research activities, and several large-scale innovations, there will be a potential change towards greater international patent filing in Europe. Arora et al ( 2023 ) stated that marketing strategies employed in Germany to increase public awareness on this topic proved positive and successful. Such marketing initiatives and awareness should hence be implemented at a larger scale globally.…”