Renewable biosources

Bob A. Howell, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Director of the Center for Applications in Polymer Science at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. His research interests include the development of nontoxic, environmentally friendly flame retardants based on renewable biosources as well as new polymeric fuel-cell membranes, polymerization techniques, thermal methods of analysis, polymer-supported organoplatinum antitumor agents, and polymers from renewable sources. 

Biosourcing is a relatively new term conjured to describe materials based partially or complete on renewable biomass. Biomass is biological material from living or recently living organisms crops, trees and castor beans are prime examples. As the title of this article implies and as the last few sections explained in detail, bio-polyamides are biosourced to various degrees (see Table 10.1). 

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