Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
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CHAPTER 6
Polyhydroxyalkanoate-based
Multiphase Materials
DHRITI KHANDAL, ERIC POLLET AND LUC AV
´
ROUS*
BioTeam/ICPEES-ECPM, UMR 7515, Universit
´
de Strasbourg,
25 rue Becquerel, 67087 Strasbourg Cedex 2, France
*Email: luc.averous@unistra.fr
6.1 Introduction
A growing demand for bio-based plastics has been gaining impetus over
the past few decades simply out of a need to be less dependent on
non-renewable resources and to address growing environmental concerns.
Bio-based plastics offer several advantages over their petroleum-based
counterparts with regard to their cost, biodegradability, and their sources
are not confined to any particular country. Apart from this, synthetic poly-
mers derived from petroleum-based monomers have been a huge risk to
nature and wildlife, e.g., disposable plastics bags have been known to en-
danger aquatic life.
1
The applications of polymers in different domains of
life, such as packaging, drug delivery, electrical appliances and commod-
ities, require the possibility of varying not only their mechanical properties
but also the duration of, and the toxicity resulting from, biodegradation. Bio-
based plastics can be modified by traditional means such as extrusion and
injection moulding, their mechanical properties can be varied by physical
blending or chemical modification, and their susceptibility to bio-
degradation is subject to the degree of chemical modification.
2
The poor
degradation rate of fossil-based plastics requires valorisation of their waste,
which presents environmental issues as well. For example, their incineration
.
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