Biological production of functional chemicals from renewable resources

The development and implementation of renewable feedstocks for the production of multifunctional chemicals has received attention from the food and pharmaceutical industries and also as potential raw materials for the manufacture of biodegradable polymers. A major shift towards renewable resources, however, requires new ways to optimize and evaluate industrial processes. There are several possibilities to replace chemical techniques with biological methods based on renewable resources. This review discusses some examples of process development in which a biotechnological route might be favorable leading to industrial realization. Herein are described the production of biomaterials that can be used as monomers in plastics, such as lactic acid for polylactide (PLA), (R)-3-hydroxybutyric acid (R-3HB) for poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] (PHB), and succinic acid for poly(butylene succinate) (PBS). Moreover, several species of microorganisms that produce significant quantities of these functional chemicals under specific cultivation conditions from biomass-derived carbohydrates are also reviewed.