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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Plant Polymer Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #428089
Research Project: Circular Bio-economy via Value-Added Biobased Products

Location: Plant Polymer Research

Title: Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) produced from food-related wastes: Solid state NMR analysis

Author
item Biswas, Atanu
item Cheng, Huai
item EDWARD, JOHN - Process Nmr Associates, Llc

Submitted to: Macromol
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/30/2025
Publication Date: 12/9/2025
Citation: Biswas, A., Cheng, H.N., Edward, J.C. 2025. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) produced from food-related wastes: Solid state NMR analysis. Macromol. https://doi.org/10.3390/macromol5040061.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/macromol5040061

Interpretive Summary: With rising public concern about plastic pollution and microplastics, there is an urgent need for eco-friendly and biodegradable alternatives. PHBV plastics are among the most promising biobased polymers due to their biodegradability, biocompatibility, and suitable end-use properties for diverse applications, including packaging, kitchenware, agriculture, and biomedicine. However, their commercial growth has been hindered by high production costs. One cost-reduction strategy involves utilizing food-related waste materials, such as food scraps, food processing waste, and municipal wastewater. In the US, approximately 30-40% of the food supply is wasted, which amounts to over 100 million tons of food annually. PHBV plastic was synthesized from food waste and municipal waste streams using microbial fermentation with bacteria that produce the plastic. These plastics were subsequently characterized to determine their composition and structure. The results show that PHBV plastic made from food waste was comparable to those produced using more costly purified sugars. By transforming food waste into bioplastics with this technology, farmers and food producers can lower disposal costs, generate new revenue streams, and contribute to a more sustainable agricultural supply chain.

Technical Abstract: Poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHAs) have garnered significant attention due to their biodegradable and biocompatible properties, making them promising alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics. As microbial-derived polyesters, PHAs offer a sustainable solution to plastic waste accumulation and microplastics, as they can be produced from renewable resources, including food-related waste. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), a copolymer in the PHA family, exhibits improved mechanical flexibility and thermal stability compared to poly(3-hydroxybutyrate), thereby broadening its potential applications. In this work, eight samples of PHBV, including those made from food waste and municipal waste streams, were studied by solid state NMR. Information obtained include copolymer composition, chemical shifts due to crystalline lattice, crystallinity, and polymer chain mobility. The composition matches with the results from fatty acid feed and solution NMR. The samples appear to be about 70% crystalline and 30% amorphous. No large differences in mobility are observed from relaxation data. Thus, the PHBV’s made from different food-related waste are not significantly different from one another with respect to solid state NMR parameters.