Emerging Areas in Bioengineering

Chapter 23Biopolymers Based on Raw Materials from Biomass

Jonggeon Jegal

23.1 Introduction

Plastics produced from petroleum have been used for more than a century in a wide range of applications. However, conventional petroleum-based plastics now pose two major problems: the production of substantial amounts of carbon dioxide (CO₂) during their degradation and their lack of biodegradability. Both of these problems relate to the environmental effect of plastics. Production of CO₂ is correlated with climate change, while lack of biodegradability is associated with environmental pollution. To solve both of these problems, researchers have attempted to use biomass that grows readily and consumes CO₂ to produce plastics, which are known as bioplastics, ...