Abstract
Environmental sustainability is driving an intense search for “green materials”. Biobased plastics have emerged as a promising alternative. Their building blocks can now be obtained from diverse biomass, by-products, and organic residues due to the advances in biorefineries and bioprocessing technologies, decreasing the demand for fossil fuel resources and carbon footprint. Novel biobased polymers with high added value and improved properties and functionalities have been developed to apply diverse economic sectors. However, the real opportunities and risks of such novel biobased plastic solutions have raised scientific and public awareness. This paper provides a critical review on the recent advances in biobased polymers chemistry and emerging (bio)technologies that underpin their production and discusses the potential for biodegradation, recycling, environmental safety, and toxicity of these biobased solutions.
Highlights
Since the introduction of plastics into the markets, their role in the world economy has grown immensely, being omnipresent in several sectors, including construction, agriculture, medicine, and many others [1]
In 2019, plastics production accounted for 10% of the global fossil feedstocks and reached a global production of approximately 370 million tons (Mt) [4,5]
A global generation of 150 Mt of post-consumer plastic waste and an emission of 390 Mt of CO2 were estimated in a World Economic Forum report for the year 2012 alone, and it should be noted that since plastic production has steadily increased [6]
Summary
Since the introduction of plastics into the markets, their role in the world economy has grown immensely, being omnipresent in several sectors, including construction, agriculture, medicine, and many others [1]. The plastics economy should be circularized to reduce plastic pollution worldwide; a significant share of plastic waste (around 79%) end up in landfills or improperly discarded in natural environments [1,8] There, they can persist for hundreds to thousands of years, threatening animal and human health and affecting the balance of ecosystems [9,10]. Plastics can be produced free from fossil fuel intervention might be mistaking the forest for the trees, perhaps conveniently ignoring (in a purely market-oriented perspective) the issues of plastic recycling and reconversion, which are vital for the circularization of the plastics market, as well as those of environmental friendliness, to promote the marketable idea that these “green” polymers are the solution to humanity’s plastics woes [15] This critical review is focused on the recent advances in biobased polymers chemistry and emerging (bio)technologies that underpin their production, addressing their opportunities and challenges when envisioning a sustainable and circular economy. The increase of plastic matter in ecosystems, the resulting incomplete and unsafe degradation into small-sized particles such as microplastics, their spread in the environments, and the resulting increased bioavailability to wide food webs become a severe health risk for chronically neglected ecosystems and public health
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