Polyhydroxyalkanoate fiber (PHA fiber) is a bio-based fiber and has good industry development prospects.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is a bio-based material synthesized by microorganisms. Polyhydroxyalkanoate fiber, also known as PHA fiber, refers to bio-based fiber synthesized by various microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, soil bacteria, and genetically modified plants. PHA fiber has the characteristics of degradability, good antibacterial properties, good biocompatibility, and good gas barrier properties, and has broad application prospects in the fields of medical textiles and packaging materials.

The sources of PHA fiber raw materials include various microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, soil bacteria, and genetically modified plants. Take cyanobacteria as an example. Cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae and slime algae, will reproduce in large numbers in freshwater organic environments. my country is the country with the richest species of cyanobacteria in the world. At present, large-scale industrial cyanobacteria production bases have been built in Shanghai, Yunnan, Beijing and other places. Spirulina, as a representative product of cyanobacteria, is widely used in the production of PHA fiber. The rich variety of raw materials and wide distribution range provide favorable conditions for the development of the PHA fiber industry.

Compared with overseas developed countries, my country’s PHA fiber industry started late, and its research and development and production technology are relatively backward. At present, melt spinning is the main production method of PHA fiber. Its production process includes raw material melt extrusion, mixing, filtration, spinning, cooling and other links. The melt spinning method has less environmental pollution, but the finished product has poor mechanical properties and poor high temperature resistance. In the future, with the continuous improvement of production methods, the output and quality of PHA fiber are expected to increase.

According to the “2023-2028 China Polyhydroxyalkanoate Fiber (PHA Fiber) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report released by the Industrial Research Center 》shows that PHA fiber is an ideal raw material for medical textiles. In recent years, as the COVID-19 epidemic continues to spread, the prosperity of the medical textile industry has continued to increase. In 2022, my country’s demand for medical textiles will reach 800,000 tons, setting a record high. With the gradual relaxation of COVID-19 control policies and the increasingly aging population, the medical textiles industry still has huge room for development. PHA fiber is antibacterial, biocompatible and degradable. Driven by market demand, its application prospects will continue to improve.

At present, due to factors such as high production costs and high technical barriers, my country’s PHA fiber market penetration rate is low and the number of manufacturing companies is small. Beijing WeiGongchang Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Dongfang Shenghong Co., Ltd., and Shenzhen Yikeman Biotechnology Co., Ltd. are major players in my country’s PHA fiber market.

Industry analysts said that as a bio-based fiber, PHA fiber has antibacterial properties, biocompatibility and degradability, and is widely used in medical applications. The textile field has broad application prospects. The PHA fiber industry has high technical barriers, and there is a certain gap between my country’s product quality and overseas developed countries. In the future, as local companies continue to make breakthroughs in production technology, the application scope of PHA fiber will be further expanded, and its market share will continue to increase.