Low carbon biodegradable polymer matrices for sustainable future

Abstract

One of the crowning glories of 20th century was the development of petroleum-based plastics. Eighty years later, with pioneering advances and series of breakthroughs in research and industrial innovations, plastics have become an integral part of our everyday lives. While the applications of plastics are multifarious, their unrestricted disposal is causing damage to the ecosystem services and biodiversity. Furthermore, the plastic economy entirely relies on non-renewable, climate-changing petrochemical resources. A circular economy (CE), which aims to retain plastics at their highest value for a longest period of time in the system is one of the strategies to overcome these challenges. The present article discusses about strategies that can be employed to incorporate circularity and concepts of CE in plastics production systems. It emphasizes that although CE aims at design out waste, it needs to go a step ahead and also consider the impact of raw materials, the entire product value chain and end-of life options to achieve sustainability. It captures the emerging area of biodegradable low carbon polymers from renewable resources with an emphasis on technical and environmental advantages that contribute to the reduction in carbon footprints. Research carried out from a sustainability standpoint by considering CO2 emissions right from production stage to end-of-life that helps in achieving a low carbon economy is reviewed. Some challenges that need to be addressed for future work, the potential role of sustainability analysis in enhancing the use of biopolymers are summarized. Furthermore, it sheds light on integrating a low carbon economy with the CE to achieve a holistic and sustainable plastics production value chain. © 2021