The use of biopolymer as a substitute for synthetic plastic has been gaining importance since the last two decades. One of the challenges associated with biopolymer production is the cost involved in production which can be reduced by use of alternative carbon sources like agro-industrial waste. Bacillus megaterium strain JHA isolated from oil contaminated soil was analysed for its potential to accumulate PHA using glucose. The organism was screened to check for PHA accumulation using agro-industrial wastes like molasses, kakvi, baggase, banana peel, potato peel, mango peel, muskmelon peel, lychee seed, jackfruit seed, textile effluent waste, waste oil, neera, nirmalaya and protein powder. All the substrates were utilized by Bacillus megaterium strain JHA for PHA biosynthesis. Among the agro-industrial waste screened, molasses showed maximum PHA accumulation. On optimization of media, E2 medium (pH 8) devoid of nitrogen with 20 g% molasses showed maximum PHA accumulation of 19.52 g/l after incubation at 72 hrs at 30°C. The ability of the organism to accumulate PHA was confirmed using Nile blue A plate assay and Confocal Microscopy. The bioplastic layer formed was further characterized by HPTLC, FTIR, NMR, DSC, TGA and GPC which was confirmed to be a type of polyhydroxyalkanoate.
