Introduction to Renewable Biomaterials

Chapter 8Oil-Based and Bio-Derived Thermoplastic Polymer Blends and Composites

Alessia Quitadamo¹, Valerie Massardier¹ and Marco Valente²

¹INSA de Lyon, IMP/CNRS 5223, Lyon, France

²University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Chemical and Material Engineering, Rome, Italy

There must be a better way to make the things we want, a way that doesn't spoil the sky, or the rain or the land.

Paul McCartney

8.1 Introduction

The importance assumed by polymer materials in our world is evident and is more ancient than we can imagine.

Polymers like wood, silk, wool and cotton are among the first materials known by the men, though their deep nature has been known only in the twentieth century.

Important discoveries have been done thanks to observation of nature, trying to learn from its structures and organizations, as a consequence many synthetic polymers often hydrophobic have been produced, revolutionizing our routine.

Great importance is related to thermoplastic polymers, thanks to their mechanical properties, production processes, cheapness and versatile applications. Moreover, natural polymers are mainly thermoplastics after plasticization process, with properties rather different from fuel-based thermoplastics such as their hydrophilicity. Hence, this chapter focuses on both oil-based and bio-derived thermoplastic polymers.

Environmental impact is one of the biggest problems related to synthetic polymers: end of life of fuel-based polymers can be a problem, especially when they ...