Environmental degradation, green polymer

Scholz C, FuUer RC, Lenz RW (1994) Growth and polymer incorporation of Pseudomonas oleo-vorans on alkyl esters of heptanoic acid. Macromolecules 27 2886-2889 Scott G (1994) Environmental biodegradation of hydrocarbon polymers. In Doi Y, Fukuda K (eds) Biodegradable plastics and polymers. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 79-91 Scott G (1997) Abiotic control of polymer biodegradation. Trends Polym Sd 5 361-368 Scott G (1999) Biodegradable polymers. In Scott G (ed) Polymers and the environment. Royal Society of Chemistry, London, pp. 93-125 Scott G (2000) Green polymers. Polym Degrad Stab 68 1-7... 

Generally, biodegradable and renewable polymer composites are called eco-friendly polymer nanocomposites (EPN) or green polymer composites. The major attractions of EPN are that they are environmentally friendly, sustainable, and degradable. These polymer composites can be easily composted or disposed without harming the environment (BailUe 2004 Adeosun et al. 2012). 

Imam SH, Chen L, Gordon SH, Shogren RL, Weisleder D, Greene RV (1998) J of Environmental Polymer Degradation 6 91... 

The third green criterion indicates that the long-term effects of manmade materials in the environment are as important as their initial impact as litter. The use of degradable materials in consumer products or in agricultural waste must not lead to the generation of toxic or otherwise environmentally unacceptable chemicals in the environment. For example, the use of chlorinated polymers as degradable materials... 

Environmental awareness has led to the design and development of degradable plastics [271]. Biodegradable polymers are completely degraded via microbial attack. The term biodegradable has in recent years become part of the green vocabulary. 

Greene, J. (2007) Degradation of biodegradable, UV-degradable and oxodegradable plastics in MSW in-vessel composting environment. Proceedings of the SPI Bio-Environmental Polymer Society Conference, October 2007. 

S.H. Imam, S.H. Gordon, A. Burgess-Cassler and R.V. Greene, Journal of Environmental Polymer Degradation, 1995, 3, 107. 

The term environmentally friendly has more recently been superseded by its modern equivalents renewable and sustainable . As already discussed, it is sometimes assumed that polymers from renewable resources are by definition sustainable . One definition of sustainable suggests that the development of new products for the benefit of society should not have an unacceptable effect on resource depletion and environmental pollution. However, acceptable is a relative term and invites comparison of one material with another by life-cycle assessment (LCA) [4]. Companies engaged in the development degradable polymers from renewable resources have initiated life-cycle assessment comparisons of their products with the commodity synthetic polymers notably polyethylene. As will be seen in the following Sections, these have not so far shown unambiguously that bio-based polymers are more environmentally sustainable than the present range of commodity polymers [36]. This results from the same reason that led to the Green Report namely lack of consistency and uniformity of the assumptions made. In some cases they actually contradict one another. 

Chen L, Imam SH, Gordon SH, Greene RV, (1997) Starch polyvinyl alcohol crosslinked film - Performance and biodegradation . Journal of Environmental Polymer Degradation, v5 n2 111—117. 

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