Polyhydroxyalkanoates: Sustainable Production and Biotechnological Applications I

This book highlights microbial biodiversity, biowastes, and innovative bioprocesses that contribute to creating these environmentally friendly biopolymers. The chapters discuss key concepts such as the occurrence and biosynthesis of natural and synthetic biopolymer composites, recent advances in using engineered E. coli and Pseudomonas as microbial factories revolutionizing biopolymer production, and the challenges and opportunities presented by cyanobacterial PHA research. Additionally, it investigates green synthesis methods that convert lignocellulosic biomass into PHAs and examines various feedstocks like sugar- and starch-rich waste for fermentation substrates. Researchers in biotechnology, environmental science, materials engineering, and related fields will find this book indispensable. It offers a comprehensive overview of current R&D activities to achieve sustainable PHA production. The book provides both theoretical perspectives and practical case studies, offers a wealth of knowledge to guide readers’ exploration of biopolymer production, making it a must-read for anyone dedicated to advancing eco-friendly materials science.

Dr. Vipin Chandra Kalia is presently working as a Professor at the National Research Foundation (Korea), Department of Chemical Engineering, Konkuk University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Previously, he was working as a CSIR-Emeritus Scientist. He has been the Chief Scientist and the Deputy Director at Microbial Biotechnology and Genomics, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Delhi. He is a Professor, AcSIR, who obtained his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Genetics, from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi. He has been elected as (1) Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (FNASc), (2) Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (FNAAS), and (3) Fellow of the Association of Microbiologists of India (FAMSc), and. His main research areas are Microbial biodiversity, Bioenergy, Biopolymers, Genomics, Microbial evolution, Quorum sensing, Quorum quenching, Drug discovery, and Antimicrobials. He has published more than 200 papers in Scientific journals such as Nature Biotechnology, Biotechnology Advances, Trends in Biotechnology, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Science of the Total Environment, Annual Review of Microbiology, Critical Reviews in Microbiology, Bioresource Technology, Seminars in Cancer Biology, BMC Genomics, Polymers, and Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. He has authored 35 book chapters. His works have been cited 14326 times with an h index of 66 and an i10 index of 179. He has Edited 16 books: (i) Quorum Sensing vs Quorum Quenching: A Battle with No End in Sight (2015) (Springer Nature), (ii) Microbial Factories   Vol.  1: Biofuels, Waste treatment (2015) (Springer Nature), (iii) Microbial Factories   Vol. 2: Biodiversity, Biopolymers, Bioactive Molecules (2015) (Springer Nature), (iv) Waste Biomass Management–A Holistic Approach (2017) (Springer Nature), (v) Drug Resistance in Bacteria, Fungi, Malaria, and Cancer (2017) (Springer Nature), (vi) Microbial Applications Vol.1 (2017) (Springer Nature), and (vii) Microbial Applications Vol.2 (2017) (Springer Nature), (viii) Metabolic Engineering for Bioactive compounds:  Strategies and     Processes (2017)(Springer Nature); (ix) Mining of Microbial Wealth and MetaGenomic (2017) (Springer Nature); (x) Optimization of Applicability of Bioprocesses (2018)(Springer Nature); (xi) Soft computing for biological systems (2017) (Springer Nature), (xii) Biotechnological applications of quorum sensing inhibitors (2018) (Springer Nature), (xiii) Quorum sensing and its biotechnological applications (2018) (Springer Nature), (xiv). Biotechnological Applications of polyhydroxyalkanoates (2019) (SpringerNature) (xiv) Biotechnological applications of quorum sensing inhibitors (2019) (SpringerNature), (xv. - xvi) Microbial Bioprocessing of Agri-food Wastes: Food Ingredients (Vol. No. 2) and  Industrial enzymes (Vol. No. 4) (2023).  (CRC Press, Taylor & Francis). He has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Journal of Microbiology (2013 through 2023) and is still serving as the Editor/ Academic Editor of (1) Journal of Microbiology & Biotechnology (Korea), (2) International Journal of Molecular Sciences, (3) PLoS ONE, (4) Frontiers in Bioneng. Biotechnology. He is a life member of the following Scientific societies: (1) Society of Biological Chemists of India (2) Society for Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology, India; (3) Association of Microbiologists of India; (4) Indian Science Congress Association; (5) BioEnergy Society of India, and (6) the Biotech Research Society of India (BRSI). He has been a member of the American Society for Microbiology (2010-2015). He has been conferred the following awards: (i) Prof. S.R. Vyas Memorial Award, Association of Microbiologists of India (2016); (ii) ASM-IUSSF Indo-US Professorship Program, American Society of Microbiologists, USA (2014); (iii) INSA Bilateral Exchange Programme, Indian National Science Academy, India (2006);  (iv) DBT Overseas Associateship, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India (2005-2006); (v) Dr. J.V Bhat Award, Association of Microbiologists of India (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017) and Faculty Research Award in Microbiology, 2018.