Biodegradable polymer

Not to be confused with Biodegradable plastic.

Biodegradable polymers are a special class of polymer that breaks down after its intended purpose by bacterial decomposition process to result in natural byproducts such as gases (CO2, N2), water, biomass, and inorganic salts.[1][2] These polymers are found both naturally and synthetically made, and largely consist of ester, amide, and ether functional groups. Their properties and breakdown mechanism are determined by their exact structure. These polymers are often synthesized by condensation reactions, ring opening polymerization, and metal catalysts. There are vast examples and applications of biodegradable polymers.

Bio-based packaging materials have been introduced as a green alternative in the past decades, among which, edible films have gained more attention due to their environmentally-friendly characteristics, vast variety and availability, non-toxicity, and low cost.[3]

  1. ^ editors, Luc Avérous, Eric Pollet (2012). Environmental silicate nano-biocomposites. London: Springer. ISBN 978-1-4471-4108-2. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference HoBP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Sadeghi-Varkani, Atina; Emam-Djomeh, Zahra; Askari, Gholamreza (2018). "Physicochemical and microstructural properties of a novel edible film synthesized from Balangu seed mucilage". International Journal of Biological Macromolecules. 108: 1110–1119. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2017.11.029. PMID 29126944.