Renewable resources renaissance

It is well known that polysaccharide cellulose is - in general - a very important and fascinating biopolymer and an almost inexhaustible and sustainable polymeric raw material. The trend towards renewable resources and the tailoring of innovative products for science, medicine, and technology has led to a global renaissance of interdisciplinary cellulose research and the use of this abundant organic polymer over the last decade [1]. 

History of the Sustainability Concept - Renaissance of Renewable Resources... 

Hofer R. History of the sustainability concept - renaissance of renewable resources. In Hofer R, editor. Sustainable solutions for modern economies. Cambridge RSC PubL 2009. p. 1-11. 

Hofer R. History of the Sustainability Concept—Renaissance of Renewable Resources. In Hofer R, editor. 

The development and use of materials from renewable sources is not a new concept. Besides providing food, feed, clothes, shelter, and energy, biomass has been employed since ancient times to extract valuable products such as medicinal drugs, flavors, and fragrances. With the development of civilization of human society, in the nineteenth century various biomass resources were employed for the large-scale industrial production of chemicals and durable materials, such as cellulose esters (nitrate and acetate), oxidized linseed oil (linoleum), vulcanized rubber, adhesives from starches, and so on. However, the widespread use of such renewable materials diminished in the twentieth century since the development of fossil fuel derivatives, leading to the polymer renaissance. Today commodity polymers such as polyolefins are ubiquitous in our societies because they represent the optimal choice based on several factors, including monomer cost and... 

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