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Author
Martí Castells, Eduard
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Abstract
PHA’s are a polymer family which, unlike polyethylene and polypropylene, do not come from fossil fuels but is obtained from biological processes (biopolymers). It is also a biodegradable polymer that can be used to produce from single use bags to medical devices.
The study of PHA as an alternative to conventional polymers has been studied for more than 70 years but it has not yet been imposed on the use of polymers from petroleum due to its high production cost. Until now, the methodologies for recovering the PHA from within the bacterial cell walls have been one of the conflicting points that hinder the economic competitiveness of the PHA against petroleum polymers. In this final degree work, possible improvements in the extraction process of this polymer will be studied to reduce costs in its extraction, increase its yield, preserve their characteristics, and minimize waste and toxicity to obtain the biodegradable biopolymer in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. The research is going to study all different phases of the extraction process starting from the washing of the bacterial biomass, passing through bacterial lysis, the extraction solvents, precipitation, and their conservation to slow down its degradation.
In the results it has been possible to determine which are the best techniques to apply and which of them are promising lines of research for the optimization of the biopolymer obtaining process.
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