RATIONALE, DRIVERS, AND DESIGN FOR BIODEGRADABLE BIOBASED PLASTICS

摘要

Sustainability, industrial ecology, ecoefficiency, and green chemistry are the new principles that are guiding thedevelopment of the next generation of products and processes. Thus, new products have to be designed andengineered incorporating a holistic “life cycle thinking approach”. Paper-plastic combination products as laminatesor composite products are used extensively in myriad of applications. Currently, these products are designed withlimited consideration to its ecological footprint especially as it relates to its ultimate disposability. Designing thesematerials to be biodegradable and ensuring that they end up in an appropriate disposal system is environmentallyand ecologically sound. Polymeric adhesives and other plastic laminates used in paper products need to be designedfor ease of operation and non-interference in paper recycling operations. This paper provides the rationale basis anddrivers for biodegradable plastics, the design considerations for its manufacture, and introduce emergingtechnologies in this area.