Produção de biopolímeros a partir da Spirulina platensis

Abstract

Conventional plastics are produced from petroleum derivatives, a non-renewable natural resource, in which they present various environmental problems mainly due to their difficult decomposition. Because of their characteristics, plastic polymers are widely used. Thus, considering the high volume of plastic waste generated, it is necessary to seek more sustainable alternatives of production, use and disposal, in order to reduce the impacts caused to the environment. In this context, we have bioplastics, materials obtained from renewable natural resources, which degrade in nature in biologically active environments in a short period of time. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are biopolymers that are accumulated by many microorganisms as reserves of carbon and energy under certain conditions. It has thermoplastic properties similar to petrochemical plastics and the advantage of being completely biodegradable. Cyanobacteria is one of these microorganisms that can be grown for the production of PHA. The objective of this work was to cultivate the Spirulina platensis microalgae stimulating the synthesis of biopolymers using the synthetic medium (Zarrouk). The biomass was extracted after the 15 day culture time by vacuum filtration. The extraction of the biopolymer was carried out with sodium hypochlorite with subsequent centrifugations and brought to the greenhouse for 48 hours at 35 ° C. PHA extracted from Spirulina platensis showed a yield of 23.03%. The characterization was also performed for the PHA with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy identifying the functional groups of the biopolymer; analysis of differential scanning calometry determining the melting temperature of 255.92 ºC and thermogravimetric analysis to evaluate the thermal degradation of the biopolymer in which due to the impurities did not detect the peak.