Production of biodegradable microbial polymers from whey

Current research in industrial microbiology and biotechnology focuses on the production of biodegradable microbial polymers as an environmentally friendly alternative to still dominant fossil-based plastics. Microbial polymers have an extensive biotechnological potential and are already widely used in a variety of fields ranging from medicine to technology. However, their increase in production and wider use is hampered by the high cost of raw materials and therefore requires a focus on cheaper inputs, including dairy by-products and waste such as cheese whey (CW). This is an environmentally unfriendly by-product of milk processing and reducing it would also reduce the risk of environmental pollution. This review summarises current knowledge on the use of CW and derived products to obtain commercially important microbial polymers, including information about producer cultures, fermentation techniques and methods used, composition of culture medium, cultivation conditions and productivity of bioprocesses. The main methods and applications of cheese whey pre-treatment are also summarised.