Prospects for Biopolymer Production in Plants

Abstract

It is likely that during this century polymers based on renewable materials will gradually replace industrial polymers based on petrochemicals. This chapter gives an overview of the current status of research on plant biopolymers that are used as a material in non-food applications. We cover technical and scientific bottlenecks in the production of novel or improved materials, and the potential of using transgenic or alternative crops in overcoming these bottlenecks. Four classes of biopolymers will be discussed: starch, proteins, natural rubber, and poly-beta-hydroxyalkanoates. Renewable polymers produced by chemical polymerization of monomers derived from sugars, vegetable oil, or proteins, are not considered here.

Deep eutectic solvents as functional additives for starch based plastics

“…Besides synthetic polymers from biobased monomers such as polylactic acid (PLA) and bioplastics from microbial fermentation such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), whose industrial scale production is still limited and prices still high compared to petroleum based plastics, starch is an abundant, cheap and carbon neutral biopolymer produced worldwide from several different major crops, whose versatility is not limited to bioplastic applications. 1,2 Amorphous thermoplastic starch (TPS) can be obtained by destructurizing native semi-crystalline starch granules in an extruder, in the presence of water. 3 However, TPS has relatively weak mechanical properties which are also highly sensitive to relative humidity due to water sorption and plasticization, and can change during storage due to recrystallization.…”

Residuos Agroindustriales Generados en Ecuador Para La Elaboración De Bioplásticos

“…La celulosa es un polisacárido biodegradable a partir del cual se puede formar películas de celofán (Jabeen et al , 2015). Se purifica para eliminar la mayor parte de la hemicelulosa, lignina, pectina y otros compuestos asociados en su estado natural (Van beilen & Poirier, 2007), que por ser materiales fibrosos dificultan la formación de biopelículas o genera materiales grumosos. Se clasifica como material de relleno y refuerzo adicionado a las mezclas poliméricas para dar cuerpo, consistencia o volumen al bioplástico (Enriquez et al, 2012).…”

Transgenic plant factories for the production of biopolymers and platform chemicals

“…Th ey are not naturally produced in plants, but signifi cant eff orts have gone into the development of transgenic plants. 78…”