Production and modification of medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate for commercial applications

可再生和可生物降解产品的市场需求不断增长，无论是在加拿大还是在国际上，都引起了人们对航空航天、汽车、建筑、包装和其他行业使用可生物降解聚合物的兴趣。因此，本研究的总体目标是鉴定和表征微生物合成的可能适合商业应用的聚羟基烷酸酯（pha）聚合物。PHA聚合物的多功能性允许生产具有广泛工业应用的薄膜，模具和树脂。我们的工业合作伙伴Minto BioProducts有限公司对PHA聚合物作为生物复合材料中的生物树脂和可生物降解包装薄膜的使用特别感兴趣。目前的生物复合材料是用天然纤维和石油基树脂生产的，因此我们的目标是用mcl-PHA树脂生产一种完全“绿色”的生物复合材料。在包装工业中存在着对氧气和水分阻隔层的需求，而为了提高薄膜包装的生产，人们寻求一种既能提供高氧气又能阻隔水分的薄膜。本研究的具体短期目标是：1)通过高密度反应器策略提高mcl-PHA的产量；2)测定从不同底物培养的细菌中提取的不同单体组成的mcl-PHA聚合物的物理和热性能；3)通过扩链提高聚合物的分子质量收率；4)修饰含有烯烃基团的mcl-PHA，生成具有新型物理和/或热性能的聚合物；5)制备含有选定mcl- pha和纤维素纤维的生物复合材料；6)表征PHA聚合物链和/或与纤维素纤维之间的分子内键和分子间键/交联。明托生物制品公司将与马尼托巴大学的研究人员密切合作开发这些材料。这项研究的成功将使Minto生物制品有限公司在可再生和可生物降解聚合物生产方面处于领先地位，并使公司在加拿大和全球生物制品市场不断增长的生物聚合物领域具有竞争力。

A growing market pull for renewable and biodegradable products, both in Canada and internationally, has generated interest in the use of biodegradable polymers by the aerospace, automotive, construction, packaging and other sectors. Therefore, the overall objective of this research is to identify and characterize microbially synthesized polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHAs) polymers that may be suitable for commercial applications. The versatility of PHA polymers allows for production of films, molds, and resins with a wide range of industrial applications. Our industrial partner, Minto BioProducts Ltd, has specific interest in the use of PHA polymers as bioresins in biocomposite materials and as biodegradable packaging films. Current biocomposites are produced with natural fibres and petroleum-based resins, thus we aim to produce a fully "green" biocomposite using mcl-PHA resins. In the packaging industry there is a need for oxygen and moisture barrier layers, and to improve the production of film packaging a film, which provides both high oxygen and moisture barriers is sought. The specific, short-term objectives of this research are to: 1) Improve mcl-PHA production through high cell density reactor strategies; 2) Determine the physical and thermal properties of mcl-PHA polymers with different monomer compositions derived from bacteria cultured with different substrates; 3) Improve the molecular mass yield of the polymers through chain extension; 4) Modify mcl-PHA containing olefin groups to create polymers with novel physical and/or thermal properties; 5) Prepare biocomposite materials containing selected mcl-PHAs and cellulose fibres; and 6) Characterize the intra-and inter-molecular bonding/cross-linking between the PHA polymer chains and/or with cellulose fibres. Minto BioProducts will work closely with the University of Manitoba researchers to develop these materials. Success of this research will place Minto BioProducts Ltd at the leading edge of renewable and biodegradable polymer production, and make the company competitive in the growing biopolymer sector of the Canadian and global bioproducts market.