Dual Production of Microbial Exopolysaccharides and Polyhydroxyalkanoates Using a Biorefinery Approach to Replace Synthetic Polymers

This section begins with a review of the most important exopolysaccharides (EPS) in industry, along with their applications, global market, and biosynthetic pathways. Then, the discussion will focus on three potential areas where EPS can be used to substitute synthetic polymers: polyacrylates in cosmetic industry, polycarboxylate ethers in concrete industry, and synthetic glues in adhesive industry. These industries are responsible for introducing millions of tons of synthetic polymers into the environment each year and have a significant carbon footprint. Furthermore, the polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) will be presented. Unlike EPS, they are intracellular microbial products. In this part, the main producers of PHA, their biosynthetic pathways, as well as PHA properties and applications will be discussed. Following the review of EPS and PHA, we explore the topic of dual production, review the existing works in this area, and discuss the dual production approaches with deliberate designs.