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Bioplastics can utilize previously unused waste materials (e.g., straw, woodchips, sawdust, and food waste). Life cycle analysis studies show that some bioplastics can be made with a lower carbon footprint than their fossil counterparts, for example when biomass is used as raw material and also for energy production.
The definition of bioplastics is still up for debate. The phrase is frequently used to refer to a wide range of diverse goods that may be biobased, biodegradable, or both. This could imply that polymers made from oil can be branded as "bioplastics" even if they have no biological components at all. [5]
In typical parlance, the word biodegradable is distinct in meaning from compostable.While biodegradable simply means an object is capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other living organisms, "compostable" in the plastic industry is defined as able to decompose in aerobic environments that are maintained under specific controlled temperature and humidity conditions.
There are vast examples and applications of biodegradable polymers. Bio-based packaging materials have been introduced as a green alternative in the past decades, among which, edible films have gained more attention due to their environmentally-friendly characteristics, vast variety and availability, non-toxicity, and low cost.
This material can be used for biodegradable, homogeneous, dense films that are very useful in the biomedical field. [citation needed] Alginate: Alginate is the most copious marine natural polymer derived from brown seaweed. Alginate biopolymer applications range from packaging, textile and food industry to biomedical and chemical engineering.
Accelerated soil burial tests are used to record the degradation process of the plastic in the ground by replicating the conditions of a landfill, a typical disposal site for plastics. These tests are used after the service life of the material has been depleted, and the next step for the material is disposal.
Constituting about 50 percent of the bioplastics market, thermoplastic starch, such as Plastarch Material, currently represents the most important and widely used bioplastic. Pure starch possesses the characteristic of being able to absorb humidity , and is thus being used for the production of drug capsules in the pharmaceutical sector.