Degradable Bio-Based Biopolymers

Over the last 25 years a number of biopolymeric materials entered the market place that are based on renewable resources and are compostable. Especially cellulose, starch, sugar, vegetable oils and their secondary products, as well as some lignins and proteins are renewable resources that have been used as base components for bio-based and biodegradable biopolymers. 

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Bio Based Polymers Biopolymers Degradation Sustainable Packaging Vacuum... 

The increasing use of bio-based, but non-degradable polymers as additives in biopolymer blends tends to impair their biodegradabiUty. For co- and ter-polymers, the increasing use of non bio-based blend components or petrochemical monomer raw material necessarily leads to a reduction in the amount of bio-based material in the final polymer material. Currently, no minimum content levels have been established for bio-based material components in biopolymer blends and co- or ter-polymers. Therefore, polypropylene-starch blends or various copolyesters are considered biopolymers, even though they are non-biodegradable and their bio-based content is significantly smaller than their petrochemical content. 

That means that biopolymers do not have to come exclusively from renewable resources. Bio-degradable biopolymers can also be manufactured from petrochemical raw materials, such as polyvinyl alcohols, polycaprolactone, copolyester, polyester amide. On the other hand, not all biopolymers based on renewable resources are necessarily bio-degradable, e.g., highly substituted cellulose acetate, vulcanized rubber, casein plastics, or linoleum. 

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