Affiliation:
1. College of Engineering and Engineering Technology, Northern Illinois University, 590 Garden Rd, Dekalb, IL 60115, USA
Abstract
As noted in Chapter 1, bioplastics are in general plastics that are derived at least in part from biomass. There are bioplastics that are fully bio-based as well as bioplastics that are only partially bio-based. Bioplastics can be synthesized from monomers that are derived from microbial activity and other bio-based feedstocks, such as fermentation, to produce monomers or be directly produced by microbial activities. In addition, it is possible to use natural polymers, such as starch and proteins, to produce plastics. While many have a misconception that bioplastics can be readily degraded in nature, many bioplastics are not degradable nor compostable. This chapter will review these bioplastics in general and additional details will be provided in other chapters.
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry