The recent development of sustainable polymers from biomass: cellulose, lignin and vegetable oil

Abstract

At present, biomass-based polymers can be applied in several fields, such as medicine, biology, aerospace and so on. Due to their good biodegradability, more environmentally friendly products with desirable functions can be designed and processed by people. Therefore, it can be a potential candidate to solve the serious environmental pollution caused by using petroleum-based polymeric materials in the production process. In this article, cellulose, lignin and vegetable oil are taken as examples, all of which are typical biomass-based polymer monomers, by reviewing their synthesis process and applications based on the recent studies on their production, modification and performance enhancements. The properties of final products in the industry stand out compared with many other products synthesized from petroleum-based polymeric materials as there exist different scientific modification methods to synthesize materials with desirable properties. One of the most practical applications is that all of them can be used to synthesize composite materials with enhanced properties.  However, more research is required to quantify the environmental benefits and reduce the costs of biomass-based polymers so that we can make full use of biomass-based polymers and even expand their application fields. The article analyzed the application of biomass-based polymers and proposed some suggestions for its future development to help solve the present environmental problems.