Recent advances in polyhydroxyalkanoate production from volatile fatty acids derived from food waste fermentation

Abstract

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are promising green substitutes for traditional plastics, offering good biodegradability and biocompatibility. PHA production using volatile fatty acids (VFAs) obtained from food waste fermentation not only provides a new way to utilize food waste resources but also reduces the PHA production cost. However, a review of mechanisms, technical processes, key influencing factors, and techno-economic analysis of food waste-VFAs-PHA production is lacking. Thus, this review elucidates the microorganisms that synthesize PHA and their associated metabolic pathways. A technical process of food waste-VFAs-PHA generation was proposed. Research status in this field was summarized. Meanwhile, the influencing factors of PHA synthesis based on VFAs were discussed. Additionally