Division of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Ewha Womans University, 52 Ewhayeodae-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, 03760, Republic of Korea.
Biobased Chemistry Research Center, Advanced Convergent Chemistry Division, Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology, P.O.Box 107, 141 Gajeong-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34114, Republic of Korea.
Biotechnol J. 2020 Jun;15(6):e1900489. doi: 10.1002/biot.201900489. Epub 2020 Apr 17.
Advances in scientific technology in the early twentieth century have facilitated the development of synthetic plastics that are lightweight, rigid, and can be easily molded into a desirable shape without changing their material properties. Thus, plastics become ubiquitous and indispensable materials that are used in various manufacturing sectors, including clothing, automotive, medical, and electronic industries. However, strong physical durability and chemical stability of synthetic plastics, most of which are produced from fossil fuels, hinder their complete degradation when they are improperly discarded after use. In addition, accumulated plastic wastes without degradation have caused severe environmental problems, such as microplastics pollution and plastic islands. Thus, the usage and production of plastics is not free from environmental pollution or resource depletion. In order to lessen the impact of climate change and reduce plastic pollution, it is necessary to understand and address the current plastic life cycles. In this review, "sustainable biopolymers" are suggested as a promising solution to the current plastic crisis. The desired properties of sustainable biopolymers and bio-based and bio/chemical hybrid technologies for the development of sustainable biopolymers are mainly discussed.
20 世纪初科学技术的进步促进了合成塑料的发展，这些塑料重量轻、硬度大，而且在不改变其材料性能的情况下，可以很容易地模制成所需的形状。因此，塑料成为无处不在且不可或缺的材料，广泛应用于各个制造领域，包括服装、汽车、医疗和电子行业。然而，由于大多数合成塑料都是由化石燃料制成的，它们具有很强的物理耐久性和化学稳定性，因此在使用后被不当丢弃时，很难完全降解。此外，未降解的积累塑料废物已经造成了严重的环境问题，如微塑料污染和塑料岛。因此，塑料的使用和生产并没有避免环境污染或资源枯竭。为了减轻气候变化的影响和减少塑料污染，有必要了解和解决当前的塑料生命周期。在这篇综述中，“可持续生物聚合物”被认为是解决当前塑料危机的一种有前途的方法。主要讨论了可持续生物聚合物的理想特性以及用于开发可持续生物聚合物的生物基和生物/化学混合技术。
