Classification of Biopolymers
Classification of biopolymers | ||||||||
Degradable polymers
Biopolymers have been classified according to their production method into 3 categories:
Biodegradable plastics are not necessarily manufactured with renewable raw materials; they can also be produced with oil. Therefore, biodegradability does not depend on the raw material, but on the chemical structure of a plastic. Examples of biodegradable petroleum-based polymers are:
On the contrary, they are not biodegradable, p. ex. polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene-terephthalate (PET) or polyamide (PA). On the contrary, biobased plastics are made of renewable, natural raw materials. However, they are not necessarily also biodegradable. The adjective "biobased" only indicates that the carbon atoms of the chains of molecules are taken from the current nature, so they are "bio". Currently, biobased plastics are obtained from different carbohydrates such as sugar, starch, protein, cellulose, lignin, biograsas or oils. The biobased polymers are:
Biopolyethylene (PE) is obtained entirely from sugar cane, has the characteristics of a normal polyethylene, but is not biodegradable. Among the partially biobased polymers, at least, but not biodegradable, there are also normal plastics reinforced with natural fibers, as well as the new polyamides and the new polyurethanes. Keywords Bacteria, oxidation, molecular, degradation, oxidative, rays, UV, heat, humidity, biodegradation, compostable, anaerobic, oxygen, light, ASTM D5526, microbial activity, digesters, Polylactic acid (PLA), Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), Cellulose derivatives (CA, CAB), Starch Derivatives, Biopolyethylene (PE), Polybutylene Adipate-terephthalate (PBAT), Polybutylene Succinate (PBS), EN13432, ASTMD 6400, Poly (alkylene esters), PCL, PLGA, Poly (amide- esters), PolI (foreign vinyl), Poly (vinyl alcohol), polyanhydrides, polyphosphazenes, Poly (aspartic acid) | ||||||||