Polymers from biobased materials

Polymers from biobased materials are polymers derived from renewable resources by chemical or combined chemical and mechanical methods, or produced directly in biological processes. Combinations of renewable and conventional fossil-fuel-derived plastics are also biobased materials. This assessment reviews materials from renewable resources and their properties including major biopolymers produced by plants and selected animal sources. A major goal of biobased materials research is the manufacture of new materials which perform as well as fossil-fuel-derived plastics, and which also exhibit high strength, light weight, corrosion resistance and biodegradability, and/or which could be used to replace certain metals