Abstract

Ritu Saharan^* and Jyoteshna Kharb

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/ojc/380403

The marvellous and versatile properties of synthetic plastics make them an indispensable part of human lives. But in the recent years, plastic pollution has become the biggest environmental concern for the whole world globally. Environmental distress over plastic pollution associated with a rising debate over fossil fuel dependence and abatement have brought the attention of researchers towards finding a suitable alternative to plastics i.e., bioplastic. Bioplastics are specially designed to have lower carbon footprint, less dependent on natural resources, energy efficiency, environmental safety and sustainability. These are bio-resources based polymers which have the potential of substituting conventional petroleum-based plastics. This review article summarizes need for developing eco-friendly alternative to plastics, bioplastics, importance of bioplastic, advantages of bioplastics over plastics and current trends in production of bioplastics. It also highlights types of bioplastics based on various sources and a variety of bioplastic materials such as starch, cellulose, chitosan, chitin, polyhydroxyalkanoates, polylactic acid, Bio-PE, Bio-PET, Bio-PBS, etc., their synthesis, applications and biodegradability. A comparative analysis of both natural and bio-based polymers in term of their availability, nature, structure, properties such as thermal stability, biodegradability, tensile strength, etc. has also been highlighted.

Bioplastics; Eco-safety; Energy efficiency; Natural resources; Sustainability

[ View HTML Full Text]