Due to the possibility that petroleum supplies will be exhausted in the next decades to come, more and more attention has been paid to the production of bacterial pl- tics including polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), polylactic acid (PLA), poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), biopolyethylene (PE), poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT), and poly(p-phenylene) (PPP). These are well-studied polymers containing at least one monomer synthesized via bacterial transformation. Among them, PHA, PLA and PBS are well known for their biodegradability, whereas PE, PTT and PPP are probably less biodegradable or are less studied in terms of their biodegradability. Over the past years, their properties and appli- tions have been studied in detail and products have been developed. Physical and chemical modifications to reduce their cost or to improve their properties have been conducted. PHA is the only biopolyester family completely synthesized by biological means. They have been investigated by microbiologists, molecular biologists, b- chemists, chemical engineers, chemists, polymer experts, and medical researchers for many years. PHA applications as bioplastics, fine chemicals, implant biomate- als, medicines, and biofuels have been developed. Companies have been est- lished for or involved in PHA related R&D as well as large scale production. It has become clear that PHA and its related technologies form an industrial value chain in fermentation, materials, feeds, and energy to medical fields.

Due to the possibility that petroleum supplies will be exhausted in the next decades to come, more and more attention has been paid to the production of bacterial pl- tics including polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), polylactic acid (PLA), poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), biopolyethylene (PE), poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT), and poly(p-phenylene) (PPP). These are well-studied polymers containing at least one monomer synthesized via bacterial transformation. Among them, PHA, PLA and PBS are well known for their biodegradability, whereas PE, PTT and PPP are probably less biodegradable or are less studied in terms of their biodegradability. Over the past years, their properties and appli- tions have been studied in detail and products have been developed. Physical and chemical modifications to reduce their cost or to improve their properties have been conducted. PHA is the only biopolyester family completely synthesized by biological means. They have been investigated by microbiologists, molecular biologists, b- chemists, chemical engineers, chemists, polymer experts, and medical researchers for many years. PHA applications as bioplastics, fine chemicals, implant biomate- als, medicines, and biofuels have been developed. Companies have been est- lished for or involved in PHA related R&D as well as large scale production. It has become clear that PHA and its related technologies form an industrial value chain in fermentation, materials, feeds, and energy to medical fields.

Based on the classic sci-fi series Doomwatch, Mutant 59 imagines one of the most terrifying tragedies that modern science could create, a chilling and topical story of what happens when scientific research goes wrong and spreads terror through London (and endangers the world). When an airplane crashes the Ministry of Transport investigates, what caused it to fall out of the sky and could it happen again? Slowly they discover that science has unleashed a genetically engineered bacteria that feeds on (and destroys) all plastic materials. No-one takes any notice of the material used to build gas pipes, electrical insulation, cars and planes until it begins to disintegrate and explode. Has science created a biological time bomb? A jet plane crashes near Heathrow, in the Atlantic a nuclear submarine disappears without trace, central London grinds to a halt. As power stations explode and London's population is evacuated Anna Kramer and Luke Gerrard search for the scientific key to a fiery holocaust that is capable of infecting the world.

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license. This volume focuses on microscopic plastic debris, also referred to as microplastics, which have been detected in aquatic environments around the globe and have accordingly raised serious concerns. The book explores whether microplastics represent emerging contaminants in freshwater systems, an area that remains underrepresented to date. Given the complexity of the issue, the book covers the current state-of-research on microplastics in rivers and lakes, including analytical aspects, environmental concentrations and sources, modelling approaches, interactions with biota, and ecological implications. To provide a broader perspective, the book also discusses lessons learned from nanomaterials and the implications of plastic debris for regulation, politics, economy, and society. In a research field that is rapidly evolving, it offers a solid overview for environmental chemists, engineers, and toxicologists, as well as water managers and policy-makers.

Environmental and Agricultural Microbiology Uniquely reveals the state-of-the-art microbial research/advances in the environment and agriculture fields Environmental and Agricultural Microbiology: Applications for Sustainability is divided into two parts which embody chapters on sustenance and life cycles of microorganisms in various environmental conditions, their dispersal, interactions with other inhabited communities, metabolite production, and reclamation. Though books pertaining to soil & agricultural microbiology/environmental biotechnology are available, there is a dearth of comprehensive literature on the behavior of microorganisms in the environmental and agricultural realm. Part 1 includes bioremediation of agrochemicals by microalgae, detoxification of chromium and other heavy metals by microbial biofilm, microbial biopolymer technology including polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and polyhydroxybutyrates (PHB), their production, degradability behaviors, and applications. Biosurfactants production and their commercial importance are also systematically represented in this part. Part 2 having 9 chapters, facilitates imperative ideas on approaches for sustainable agriculture through functional soil microbes, next-generation crop improvement strategies via rhizosphere microbiome, production and implementation of liquid biofertilizers, mitigation of methane from livestock, chitinases from microbes, extremozymes, an enzyme from extremophilic microorganism and their relevance in current biotechnology, lithobiontic communities, and their environmental importance, have all been comprehensively elaborated. In the era of sustainable energy production, biofuel and other bioenergy products play a key role, and their production from microbial sources are frontiers for researchers. The final chapter unveils the importance of microbes and their consortia for management of solid waste in amalgamation with biotechnology Audience The book will be read by environmental microbiologists, biotechnologists, chemical and agricultural engineers.

Bioremediation refers to the clean‐up of pollution in soil, groundwater, surface water, and air using typically microbiological processes. It uses naturally occurring bacteria and fungi or plants to degrade, transform or detoxify hazardous substances to human health or the environment. For bioremediation to be effective, microorganisms must enzymatically attack the pollutants and convert them to harmless products. As bioremediation can be effective only where environmental conditions permit microbial growth and action, its application often involves the management of ecological factors to allow microbial growth and degradation to continue at a faster rate. Like other technologies, bioremediation has its limitations. Some contaminants, such as chlorinated organic or high aromatic hydrocarbons, are resistant to microbial attack. They are degraded either gradually or not at all, hence, it is not easy to envisage the rates of clean-up for bioremediation implementation. Bioremediation represents a field of great expansion due to the important development of new technologies. Among them, several decades on metagenomics expansion has led to the detection of autochthonous microbiota that plays a key role during transformation. Transcriptomic guides us to know the expression of key genes and proteomics allow the characterization of proteins that conduct specific reactions. In this book we show specific technologies applied in bioremediation of main interest for research in the field, with special attention on fungi, which have been poorly studied microorganisms. Finally, new approaches in the field, such as CRISPR-CAS9, are also discussed. Lastly, it introduces management strategies, such as bioremediation application for managing affected environment and bioremediation approaches. Examples of successful bioremediation applications are illustrated in radionuclide entrapment and retardation, soil stabilization and remediation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, plastics or fluorinated compounds. Other emerging bioremediation methods include electro bioremediation, microbe-availed phytoremediation, genetic recombinant technologies in enhancing plants in accumulation of inorganic metals, and metalloids as well as degradation of organic pollutants, protein-metabolic engineering to increase bioremediation efficiency, including nanotechnology applications are also discussed.

The field of bio-based plastics has developed significantly in the last 10 years and there is increasing pressure on industries to shift existing materials production from petrochemicals to renewables. Bio-based Plastics presents an up-to-date overview of the basic and applied aspects of bioplastics, focusing primarily on thermoplastic polymers for material use. Emphasizing materials currently in use or with significant potential for future applications, this book looks at the most important biopolymer classes such as polysaccharides, lignin, proteins and polyhydroxyalkanoates as raw materials for bio-based plastics, as well as materials derived from bio-based monomers like lipids, poly(lactic acid), polyesters, polyamides and polyolefines. Detailed consideration is also given to the market and availability of renewable raw materials, the importance of bio-based content and the aspect of biodegradability. Topics covered include: Starch Cellulose and cellulose acetate Materials based on chitin and chitosan Lignin matrix composites from natural resources Polyhydroxyalkanoates Poly(lactic acid) Polyesters, Polyamides and Polyolefins from biomass derived monomers Protein-based plastics Bio-based Plastics is a valuable resource for academic and industrial researchers who are interested in new materials, renewable resources, sustainability and polymerization technology. It will also prove useful for advanced students interested in the development of bio-based products and materials, green and sustainable chemistry, polymer chemistry and materials science. For more information on the Wiley Series in Renewable Resources, visit www.wiley.com/go/rrs

Plastic is ubiquitous. It is in the Arctic, in the depths of the Mariana Trench, and in the high mountaintops of the Pyrenees. It is in the air we breathe and the water we drink. Nanoplastics penetrate our cell walls. Plastic is not just any material—it is emblematic of life in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. In Plastic Matter Heather Davis traces plastic’s relations to geology, media, biology, and race to show how matter itself has come to be understood as pliable, disposable, and consumable. The invention and widespread use of plastic, Davis contends, reveals the dominance of the Western orientation to matter and its assumption that matter exists to be endlessly manipulated and controlled by humans. Plastic’s materiality and pliability reinforces these expectations of what matter should be and do. Davis charts these relations to matter by mapping the queer multispecies relationships between humans and plastic-eating bacteria and analyzing photography that documents the racialized environmental violence of plastic production. In so doing, Davis provokes readers to reexamine their relationships to matter and life in light of plastic’s saturation.

Systems Metabolic Engineering is changing the way microbial cell factories are designed and optimized for industrial production. Integrating systems biology and biotechnology with new concepts from synthetic biology enables the global analysis and engineering of microorganisms and bioprocesses at super efficiency and versatility otherwise not accessible. Without doubt, systems metabolic engineering is a major driver towards bio-based production of chemicals, materials and fuels from renewables and thus one of the core technologies of global green growth. In this book, Christoph Wittmann and Sang-Yup Lee have assembled the world leaders on systems metabolic engineering and cover the full story – from genomes and networks via discovery and design to industrial implementation practises. This book is a comprehensive resource for students and researchers from academia and industry interested in systems metabolic engineering. It provides us with the fundaments to targeted engineering of microbial cells for sustainable bio-production and stimulates those who are interested to enter this exiting research field.

Discover a comprehensive and current overview of microbial bioprospecting written by leading voices in the field In Bioprospecting of Microorganism-Based Industrial Molecules, distinguished researchers and authors Sudhir P. Singh and Santosh Kumar Upadhyay deliver global perspectives of bioprospecting of biodiversity. The book covers diverse aspects of bioprospecting of microorganisms demonstrating biomass value of nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, biomedical, and bioenergetic importance. The authors present an amalgamation of translational research on bioresource utilization and ecological sustainability that will further the reader’s knowledge of the applications of different microbial diversity and reveal new avenues of research investigation. Readers will also benefit from: A thorough introduction to microbial biodiversity and bioprospecting An exploration of anti-ageing and skin lightening microbial products and microbial production of anti-cancerous biomolecules A treatment of UV protective compounds from algal biodiversity and polysaccharides from marine microalgal sources Discussions of microbial sources of insect toxic proteins and the role of microbes in bio-surfactants production Perfect for academics, scientists, researchers, graduate and post-graduate students working and studying in the areas of microbiology, food biotechnology, industrial microbiology, plant biotechnology, and microbial biotechnology, Bioprospecting of Microorganism-Based Industrial Molecules is an indispensable guide for anyone looking for a comprehensive overview of the subject.