Are Biobased Plastics Green Alternatives?—A Critical Review

Environmental sustainability is driving an intense search for “green materials”. Biobased plastics have emerged as a promising alternative. Their building blocks can now be obtained from diverse biomass, by-products, and organic residues due to the advances in biorefineries and bioprocessing technol...

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Published inInternational journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 15; p. 7729
Main Authors Ferreira-Filipe, Diogo A., Paço, Ana, Duarte, Armando C., Rocha-Santos, Teresa, Patrício Silva, Ana L.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 21.07.2021
MDPI
Subjects
Biodegradation
Bioprocessing
Biorefineries
Climate change
Consumption
Economic sectors
Ecosystems
Environmental economics
Infrastructure
Pathogens
Plastic pollution
Plastics
Polyethylene terephthalate
Polymers
Population
Public awareness
Recycling
Review
Sustainability
Sustainable materials
Toxicity
India
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Summary:Environmental sustainability is driving an intense search for “green materials”. Biobased plastics have emerged as a promising alternative. Their building blocks can now be obtained from diverse biomass, by-products, and organic residues due to the advances in biorefineries and bioprocessing technologies, decreasing the demand for fossil fuel resources and carbon footprint. Novel biobased polymers with high added value and improved properties and functionalities have been developed to apply diverse economic sectors. However, the real opportunities and risks of such novel biobased plastic solutions have raised scientific and public awareness. This paper provides a critical review on the recent advances in biobased polymers chemistry and emerging (bio)technologies that underpin their production and discusses the potential for biodegradation, recycling, environmental safety, and toxicity of these biobased solutions.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-2
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ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph18157729