ABSTRACT
Despite intensive investigations carried out in the area of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) biosynthesis, research on downstream processing of PHA is relatively limited. The aim of the review considered in this chapter is to analyze trends in development of an efficient downstream processing technology for recovery and purification of PHA. This chapter considers advances in development of the PHA recovery methods, which can increase yield and purity of the products but reduce the cost and environmental impact of large-scale production. PHA granules of surprising purity can be excreted by some animals and insects, which selectively digest the non-PHA fraction if they are fed with PHA-rich bacterial biomass. The major limitations of downstream processing: toxicity of the chemicals used, environmental impact, sustainability, and substantial amounts of heat and power input and their optimization remain to be solved for the industrial applications of these versatile biopolymers.
