An Overview of the Main Trends in the Creation of Biodegradable Polymer Materials

Abstract

Plastic is one of the most demanded materials on the planet, and the increasing consumption of which contributes to the accumulation of significant amounts of waste based on it. For this reason, a new approach to the development of these materials has been formed: the production of polymers with constant operational characteristics during the period of consumption and capable of then being destroyed under the influence of environmental factors and being involved in the metabolic processes of natural biosystems. The paper outlines the prerequisites for the development of the field of creating biodegradable composite materials, as well as the main technical solutions for obtaining such polymeric materials. The main current solutions for reducing and regulating the degradation time of polymer materials are presented. The most promising ways of further development of the field of bioplastics production are described. Common types of polymers based on renewable raw materials, composites with their use, and modified materials from natural and synthetic polymers are considered.

Monomers and Macromolecular Materials from Renewable Resources: State of the Art and Perspectives

“…Although there is no intent to deepen in the mechanisms of polymer biodegradation here, since recent and complete monographs are available [ 175 , 176 , 177 , 178 , 179 ], the message aims at warning the reader that biodegradation is a complex process and must not be used for industrial and academic marketing purposes. Biodegradability is strongly dependent on the specific molecular structure of polymers, as well as on the additives used (not necessarily harmless to microorganisms) and on macrostructural characteristics, not to mention the test conditions (laboratory or full-scale) and the parameters to be accessed (weight loss, changes in thermal and mechanical properties, mineralization rate, among others) [ 175 ], which emphasizes that no deduction should be accepted without concrete data.…”