Abstract: The fossil derived plastic material is now causing serious environmental problems. The best available alternative is the use of Biodegradable plastic. Among Biodegradable plastic Poly β hydroxybutyrate is drawing much attention due to its resemblance with petrochemical based plastic. But high production costs restrict its wider applications. Considering the industrial interest in poly - β -hydroxy butyrate (PHB), its high production cost, and pollution caused by sugar industry waste water, work has been undertaken for the production of PHB by Bacillus subtilis NG05 using sugar industry waste as substrate to minimize the production cost as well as to control the pollution by sugar industry waste water. Accumulation of PHB granules as food reserve materials in the organism was analyzed by Sudan Black method. The PHB was qualitatively analyzed by Nile Blue A staining and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) methods, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), and Differential Scanning Calorimetry. The maximum yield of 5.132g/L was obtained using sugar industry waste water as carbon source. This ongoing study suggested that sugar industry waste water could be effectively used for the production of Poly β-hydroxybutyrate.
Keywords: Poly β-hydroxybutyrate, Nile Blue A, Nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier Transform Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Differential Scanning Calorimetry etc.