Over the past 20 years, chemists and materials engineers have harnessed the power of bioprocessing (think: biofuels and beer making) to extract useful chemicals from agricultural products. These chemicals can be further converted to plastics, many of which have properties quite similar to conventional petroleum derived materials. The future of this industry relies on the economical competitiveness of these new materials, as well as their performance relative to established plastics used today.

Bio-Based Plastics

Many, but not all, of the biobased plastics, and some that are fossil-derived, are also susceptible to degradation under normal biologic conditions, both in the body and in the environment. There is considerable debate about the meaning of this biodegradation. How quickly must it take place (we could all agree that some level of degradation would take place eventually, if one waited long enough)? What byproducts of the degradation constitute true biodegradation? The articles below address these questions and more.