Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB): Production, Properties, Modification Strategies, Additive Manufacturing, Biodegradation,...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Polymer Science
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Growing environmental concerns drive demand for sustainable biopolymers like polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB).
• PHB offers biodegradability, biocompatibility, and renewability but suffers from brittleness, poor thermal stability, and high costs.
• These limitations hinder widespread adoption of PHB as a petroleum-plastic alternative.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review PHB production, properties, biodegradation, and applications.
• To critically evaluate strategies for enhancing PHB performance, including material modification and composite formulation.
• To discuss advancements in additive manufacturing and the circular economy integration of PHB.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of PHB production and modification techniques.
• Analysis of various PHB modification approaches: copolymerization, blending, reinforcement, plasticization, and composite formulation.
• Examination of PHB biodegradation under diverse environmental conditions and its application potential.

Main Results:

• Modification strategies significantly improve PHB's thermal, mechanical, and processing properties.
• Additive manufacturing, particularly FDM/FFF, shows promise for processing PHB composite filaments.
• PHB demonstrates effective biodegradation across various environments (soil, compost, aquatic, aerobic/anaerobic).

Conclusions:

• PHB shows substantial potential as a sustainable material for packaging, biomedical, agricultural, and 3D printing applications.
• Overcoming current challenges requires focus on sustainable feedstocks, advanced composites, and circular economy principles.
• Further research into PHB modification and processing is crucial for its commercial viability.