11 - Polymer-metal oxide composites from renewable resources for agricultural and environmental applications

Abstract

At present, the conservation of the environment and the production of food are aspects of great interest. Both aspects are pillars of sustainable development goals; although under current production systems, these methods are not compatible. This underlies the fact of the strong impact of industrial agricultural production on the environment. Therefore, the sustainable approach applied to agricultural productivity has emerged as an aspect of great relevance from a point of view of environmental conservation. Of course, this is also a trend in the design of new polymeric materials, such as polymer-metal-oxide composites, which have a great potential for a wide range of applications, including those in agricultural and environmental fields. Firstly, this chapter is focused on the general, economic, social, and environmental aspects associated with sustainable polymers with emphasis on the use of biomass as a renewable raw material to obtain them. Secondly, the established methodologies and trends in the use of this resource in the production of sustainable monomers and polymers are exposed and discussed. Finally, the applications and specific examples of polymer-metal-oxide composites obtained from renewable resources and focused on agricultural and environmental applications, e.g., their use as herbicides, insecticides, reservoir of bioelements, and photocatalytic systems, are shown. Some special aspects such as the advantages, disadvantages, and limitations of these materials are also mentioned and discussed, highlighting the gaps in this research field and the need to deepen it.