Matter
ReviewSustainable bioplastics derived from renewable natural resources for food packaging
Progress and potential
Petrochemical plastics bring tremendous convenience to daily life and are widely used in packaging, containers, furniture, electronics, etc. However, most plastics need hundreds of years to degrade because of their stable polymer chains. A third of plastics ends up as marine or terrestrial pollution. Plastic pollution has a highly negative influence on the marine environment and the food chain. Therefore, a demand for bioplastics to replace petrochemical plastics is emerging, especially in the one-time-use food packaging industry. Bioplastics take less time to degrade, save energy during manufacturing, and reduce waste. The main challenges of bioplastics encountered by manufacturers and consumers are adaptability to the existing manufacturing line, performance, and cost.
In this review, a rational design of bioplastics from natural resources for food packaging is evaluated. Management of bioplastic waste regarding degradation and recycling is discussed. Adding plasticizers is an effective approach to improving the mechanical performance of bioplastics. Bioplastic can be an alternative to conventional plastic in most applications of food packaging, with less of a carbon footprint and environmental impact. Recycling should be promoted because it can significantly improve the sustainability of bioplastics. The capability of bioplastics to be recycled varies, and appropriate technologies should be selected based on the nature of biopolymers.
Graphical abstract
Keywords
Cited by (0)
- 10
These authors contributed equally