Biodegradable Polymers for Sustainable Packaging Applications:
A Review
ABSTRACT
Stable life offered by the synthetic plastic and their nonrenewable source results in waste
disposal and environmental pollution. Bio degradable plastics can be developed from the synergic
combinations of agricultural biology and micro biology. Starch, cellulose based bio degradable zero
waste plastics can replace with the nonrenewable plastics with comparable packaging properties.
Packaging industries have wide applications and the requirement for each area is unique. Food
packaging industries requires shelf life improving characters while industrial packaging requires high
mechanical properties which can resist mechanical damaging. This paper reviews suitability factors
and emerging techniques for the improving packaging properties of bio plastics.
RESEARCH PROBLEM:
The term packaging also referred to product protection, security and improving usability allows
with provision for safe handling and use. Commonly used packaging materials are wood, paper, glass,
metals, plastic and composites. Plastics are widely used for packaging as it shows superior properties
like of no permeability, inert to environment, durability, lightness, stability and availability. These
properties of plastic also make them last in the environment forever and accumulate as solid waste,
if not recycled properly. Additives, plasticizers and colorants in plastic make serious environmental
issues during disposal of the same.
BIOPOLYMERS AS AN ALTERNATIVE PACKAGING MATERIAL
Bioplastics derived from renewable resources (which are biodegradable and less pollutant)
are thought to be a replacement for synthetic polymers. Biopolymers are mainly processed from
starch, proteins, cellulose, DNA, RNA and peptides. The monomer molecules of bio plastics are
sugar, nucleotides and amino acids. Bio based packaging materials require multistage processes
required in designing and manufacturing of bio-based packaging materials. Some of the preferable
properties a good packaging material shell possesses include permeability (gas and vapor), sealing
and resistance to chemicals, UV and light, transparency, mechanical properties, machinability. Cost
and availability are the key factors in any designing process of bio plastic. Finally, shelf life and
disposal method of the bioplastic should also be taken into account. Most products leave the
production facility with three levels of packaging
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Biopolymers are the polymers which derived from natural resources. Polymers which derived
from bio background are renewable, biodegradable, and mostly nontoxic. Bio polymers are produced
by biological systems such as plants, animals and micro-organisms or chemically synthesized from
biological starting materials such as sugar, starch, oils, and natural fats. The renewable bio mass feed
stock grown for preparing bio plastics helps to absorb Carbon dioxide and in turn improves the carbon
foot print. It is estimated that approximately 1 kg of petroleum based synthetic plastics generates
about 3-6 kg of CO2 whereas bio plastics derived from renewable agricultural resources can reduce
CO2 emissions by 30–80%. Bioplastics are often designed to biodegrade at the end of their useful
life, aided by fungi, bacteria and enzymes. Biodegradable bio plastic products can be processed at
commercial composting facilities for disposal but it is found to be not effective in smaller residential
compost piles. The key difference remains with the temperature where effective composting requires
a significant amount of heat to assist with the breakdown of molecules, and this level of heat is usually
generated only by commercial composting facilities.
SOURCES OF BIOPOLYMERS
Plants, animals, microorganisms, and agricultural wastes are examples of natural biological
sources of biopolymers. Plant sources, such as rice, maize, wheat, sorghum, yams, cassava,
potatoes, banana, tapioca, corn, cotton, and barley biopolymers can be produced chemically from
monomeric components, such as oils, sugars, and amino acids. Cattles are the most common animal
sources, while corals, sponges, fish, lobster, and shrimp are the most common marine sources. Algae,
fungus, and yeasts are the most common microbiological sources. Agro leftovers, paper wastes,
crops, green wastes, and wood wastes are carbohydrate-rich biomass-based sources. Triglycerides
are found in vegetable oils, such as sunflower, soybean, safflower, jojoba, rapeseed, castor, and
meadowfoam oil. Vegetable oils obtained from food producers, in particular, are excellent alternatives
for natural polymer synthesis. PHAs are a kind of biopolymer, secondary metabolites generated by
microbes and plants. PHAs are stored as inclusion bodies in bacteria and are generated and
aggregated intracellularly as transparent granules. These biopolymers are produced naturally and
degraded by microbial metabolisms, even though these biopolymers can be melted and shaped in
the same way as the chemical and synthetic thermoplastics.
REFERENCES
Baranwal, J., Barse, B., Fais, A., Delogu, G. L., & Kumar, A. (2022). Biopolymer: A
Sustainable Material for Food and Medical Applications. Polymers, 14(5), 983.
https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14050983
Renith , R., Rejeesh , C. R., & Ashok, A. (2016, January). Biodegradable Polymers for
Sustainable Packaging Applications: A Review [Review of Biodegradable Polymers
for Sustainable Packaging Applications: A Review].
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318531449_Biodegradable_Polymers
_for_Sustainable_Packaging_Applications_A_Review