Affiliation:
1. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Iowa State University, 618 Bissell Road, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA
Abstract
There are a wide variety of methods for producing polymers derived from biological sources. As will be discussed in other chapters 8 and 9, it is possible to use natural polymers such as polysaccharides and proteins to produce biobased plastics directly. However, it is also possible to convert many types of biomass into monomers for polymerization into novel biopolymers. These materials may have unique properties that can make them preferred over their petrochemical analogues and as such are often referred to as “bioadvantaged polymers”. This chapter will review a select number of polymerization methods, their governing mechanisms, and basic theory for producing biobased plastics. In detail, step-growth polymerization, ionic polymerization, metathesis polymerization, and radical polymerization will be reviewed. In addition, some of the common challenges associated with these polymerization methods that arise from feedstocks that have a high degree of functionality, typical for biobased materials (plants based oils, proteins, and polysaccharides), will also be reviewed. These challenges can lead to low molecular weight polymers and/or broad molecular weight distributions. Thus, this chapter will review possible solutions to the challenges posed by the various polymerization methods.
Publisher
Royal Society of Chemistry