Project summary: polyhydroxyalkanoates (phas), a type of polyester synthesized by various bacteria and archaea under nutrient-limited or other stressful conditions, offer a promising biodegradable…

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded University of Wisconsin–Madison $180,000 on May 1, 2026, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI, CFDA 10.310) to advance polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) research for biodegradable plastic production.

The work focuses on three research streams to lower PHA production costs and expand commercial viability: developing versatile PHA co-polymers such as polyhydroxybutyrate-co-polylactic acid (PHB-co-PLA) that offer greater flexibility and application breadth; investigating how PHA contributes to bacterial stress tolerance to improve cultivation strategies for PHA-producing strains; and piloting microbial community production using diverse inocula sources—including landfills—paired with waste feedstocks such as dairy and non-recyclable paper waste. This research supports the transition to a circular bioeconomy by upcycling agricultural and forestry waste into biodegradable products.

Performance occurs at Madison, Wisconsin. The period of performance runs from May 1, 2026, through April 30, 2029. The assistance type is a Project Grant.

Project summary: polyhydroxyalkanoates (phas), a type of polyester synthesized by various bacteria and archaea under nutrient-limited or other stressful conditions, offer a promising biodegradable alternative to conventional plastics. However, their production costs remain too high to compete with petrochemical-based plastics. Increasing both the types of phas produced and strategies for increasing PHA yield will help lower this cost. Producing more versatile PHA CO-polymers, such as polyhydroxybutyrate-CO-polylactic acid (PHB-CO-PLA), will contribute to lowering cost as copolymers are more flexible and therefore expand the applications of phas currently. For increasing PHA production yield, investigating how PHA contributes to stress tolerance in bacteria can lead to improved strategies for cultivation of PHA-producing strains. Given that pilot-scale microbial community production of phas has only been done with wastewater inocula, these new strategies can enable US to use more microbial community sources, such as landfills, in order to utilize waste feedstocks, such as dairy waste, and non-recyclable paper waste. This research will help contribute to building a circular bioeconomy, in which agricultural and forestry waste can be upcycled into a biodegradable product.