Recent developments in biopolymers

Society has been reaping the benefits of industrial polymers for a long time. Polymers have entered every market in a very influential manner, from the packaging industry to the construction business. The very properties that made polymers commercially viable are posing great environmental problems for our future generations. Also, the starting material for most of the commercial polymers is crude oil. Thus, environmental issues coupled with decreasing crude oil reserves have forced the polymer industry to find new sources. These problems having been taken into consideration, biopolymers have emerged as a promising field. This paper takes into consideration the sources of renewable materials, such as starch, lignocellulosic biomass, vegetable oils, proteins, etc.; the synthesis of polymers such as polylactic acid and monomers such as furfural, ethane, propanediol, etc., from renewable materials; and the recent developments in this field. J. VINYL ADDIT. TECHNOL., 2009.