Application of Fermentation Technology in Biopolymer Production

Dear Colleagues,

Microbial biopolymers have emerged as potential substitutes for conventional plastics, supporting the transition toward a circular economy and sustainable development. These biomaterials are of great interest to the scientific community because their thermal and mechanical properties make them suitable for diverse applications in biomedicine, packaging, coatings, adhesives, and construction. However, large-scale production of these products is still constrained by high operational costs, largely due to the expenses of feedstocks, fermentation requirements, and downstream processing. Novel bioprocess engineering approaches in fermentation technology are therefore critical to overcoming these limitations and increasing the penetration of microbial polymers in the bioplastics market.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collect novel and enhanced approaches in fermentation technology for biopolymer production, such as the use of low-cost carbon or nitrogen sources, bioprocess engineering in high-cell-density cultures, studies on the role of key substrates in improving global reaction rates, the development of novel biopolymers obtained by microbial fermentation, and life cycle analyses (LCA) or techno-economical studies focused on reducing fermentation costs. In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but not limited to, the following:

• Waste valorization into microbial biopolymers.
• Biopolymer synthesis in biorefineries.
• Novel strains with enhanced biopolymer production capability.
• Bioprocess development.
• Gas–liquid mass transfer studies.
• New microbial biopolymers obtained by fermentation.
• Optimization of biopolymer production in high-cell-density cultures.
• Reactor and kinetic engineering.
• LCA and techno-economic analysis.

Dr. Alberto Rodriguez
Prof. Dr. Victoria E. Santos
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fermentation is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• microbial biopolymers
• fermentation
• bioprocess engineering
• waste management
• polyhydroxyalkanoates
• bacterial cellulose
• microbial conversion
• life cycle analysis
• techno economical analysis
• biorefineries