Development Trends of Bioplastics and Biobased Polymers Contributing to Decarbonization

Abstract

There is growing social interest in bioplastics that contribute to the construction of a decarbonized and circulating society. This review describes the development trends of bioplastics and natural polymer-based materials. Bioplastics are divided into biomass plastics that reduce the use of depleting fossil resources and biodegradable plastics that are expected to reduce the environmental load at the time of disposal mainly due to the feature of the function of being decomposed by microorganisms. Poly(lactic acid) and microbially produced polyesters are classified as biodegradable biomass plastics.Recently, non-biodegradable biomass plastics such as bio-polyethylene have become widespread, and bioelastomers such as natural rubber and vegetable oil-based polymers have also been put into practical use. In addition, there have been active research for materials using polysaccharides such as cellulose and starch, which are non-plastic but contribute to decarbonization, and resin composite materials and reduced plastic model products have been developed.