Environmental impacts and consumer concerns have necessitated the study of bio-based materials as alternatives to petrochemicals for packaging applications. The purpose of this review is to summarize synthetic and non-synthetic materials feasible for packaging and textile applications, routes of upscaling, (industrial) applications, evaluation of sustainability, and end-of-life options. The outlined bio-based materials include polylactic acid, polyethylene furanoate, polybutylene succinate, and non-synthetically produced polymers such as polyhydrodyalkanoate, cellulose, starch, proteins, lipids, and waxes. Further emphasis is placed on modification techniques (coating and surface modification), biocomposites, multilayers, and additives used to adjust properties especially for barriers to gas and moisture and to tune their biodegradability. Overall, this review provides a holistic view of bio-based packaging material including processing, and an evaluation of the sustainability of and options for recycling. Thus, this review contributes to increasing the knowledge of available sustainable bio-based packaging material and enhancing the transfer of scientific results into applications.

Bio-Based Packaging: Materials, Modifications, Industrial Applications and Sustainability.

Recent advances in the sustainable design and applications of biodegradable polymers.

Plastic pollution is ubiquitous in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Plastic waste exposed to the environment creates problems and is of significant concern for all life forms. Plastic production and accumulation in the natural environment are occurring at an unprecedented rate due to indiscriminate use, inadequate recycling, and deposits in landfills. In 2019, the global production of plastic was at 370 million tons, with only 9% of it being recycled, 12% being incinerated, and the remaining left in the environment or landfills. The leakage of plastic wastes into terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems is occurring at an unprecedented rate. The management of plastic waste is a challenging problem for researchers, policymakers, citizens, and other stakeholders. Therefore, here, we summarize the current understanding and concerns of plastics pollution (microplastics or nanoplastics) on natural ecosystems. The overall goal of this review is to provide background assessment on the adverse effects of plastic pollution on natural ecosystems; interlink the management of plastic pollution with sustainable development goals; address the policy initiatives under transdisciplinary approaches through life cycle assessment, circular economy, and sustainability; identify the knowledge gaps; and provide current policy recommendations. Plastic waste management through community involvement and socio-economic inputs in different countries are presented and discussed. Plastic ban policies and public awareness are likely the major mitigation interventions. The need for life cycle assessment and circularity to assess the potential environmental impacts and resources used throughout a plastic product’s life span is emphasized. Innovations are needed to reduce, reuse, recycle, and recover plastics and find eco-friendly replacements for plastics. Empowering and educating communities and citizens to act collectively to minimize plastic pollution and use alternative options for plastics must be promoted and enforced. Plastic pollution is a global concern that must be addressed collectively with the utmost priority.

Impacts of Plastic Pollution on Ecosystem Services, Sustainable Development Goals, and Need to Focus on Circular Economy and Policy Interventions

The increased global demand for plastic materials has led to severe plastic waste pollution, particularly to the marine environment. This critical issue affects both sea life and human beings since microplastics can enter the food chain and cause several health impacts. Plastic recycling, chemical treatments, incineration and landfill are apparently not the optimum solutions for reducing plastic pollution. Hence, this review presents two newly identified environmentally friendly approaches, plastic biodegradation and bioplastic production using algae, to solve the increased global plastic waste. Algae, particularly microalgae, can degrade the plastic materials through the toxins systems or enzymes synthesized by microalgae itself while using the plastic polymers as carbon sources. Utilizing algae for plastic biodegradation has been critically reviewed in this paper to demonstrate the mechanism and how microplastics affect the algae. On the other hand, algae-derived bioplastics have identical properties and characteristics as petroleum-based plastics, while remarkably being biodegradable in nature. This review provides new insights into different methods of producing algae-based bioplastics (e.g., blending with other materials and genetic engineering), followed by the discussion on the challenges and further research direction to increase their commercial feasibility.

Nature’s fight against plastic pollution: Algae for plastic biodegradation and bioplastics production

Agro-wastes are derived from diverse sources including grape pomace, tomato pomace, pineapple, orange, and lemon peels, sugarcane bagasse, rice husks, wheat straw, and palm oil fibers, among other affordable and commonly available materials. The carbon-rich precursors are used in the production bio-based polymers through microbial, biopolymer blending, and chemical methods. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 20–30% of fruits and vegetables are discarded as waste during post-harvest handling. The development of bio-based polymers is essential, considering the scale of global environmental pollution that is directly linked to the production of synthetic plastics such as polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PET). Globally, 400 million tons of synthetic plastics are produced each year, and less than 9% are recycled. The optical, mechanical, and chemical properties such as ultraviolet (UV) absorbance, tensile strength, and water permeability are influenced by the synthetic route. The production of bio-based polymers from renewable sources and microbial synthesis are scalable, facile, and pose a minimal impact on the environment compared to chemical synthesis methods that rely on alkali and acid treatment or co-polymer blending. Despite the development of advanced synthetic methods and the application of biofilms in smart/intelligent food packaging, construction, exclusion nets, and medicine, commercial production is limited by cost, the economics of production, useful life, and biodegradation concerns, and the availability of adequate agro-wastes. New and cost-effective production techniques are critical to facilitate the commercial production of bio-based polymers and the replacement of synthetic polymers.

Production of Sustainable and Biodegradable Polymers from Agricultural Waste

Frontiers of bio-based and biodegradable polymers are constantly expanding in a view to achieve sustainability. Hence, designing sustainable bioplastics made of either bio-based or biodegradable polymers opens up opportunities to overcome resource depletion and plastic pollution. This review presents a broad perspective on state-of-the-art technologies in bioplastics manufacturing along with the challenges underlying their production, application and post-consumer waste management. Recent scientific advances are catalysing the sustainable design of bioplastics to overcome the present challenges of plastic waste and emerging end-of-life options are contributing to circular economy. As research insights into developing sustainable bioplastics are rapidly evolving, their production and waste management approaches are not limited to those discussed in this review.

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Bio-based and biodegradable polymers - State-of-the-art, challenges and emerging trends

The synergistic mechanism of photocatalytic-assisted dye degradation has been demonstrated using a hybrid ZnO-MoS2-deposited photocatalytic membrane (PCM). Few layers of MoS2 sheets were produced using the facile and efficient surfactant-assisted liquid-phase exfoliation method. In this process, hydrophilic moieties of an anionic surfactant were adsorbed on the surface of MoS2, which aided exfoliation and promoted a stable dispersion due to the higher negative zeta potential of the exfoliated MoS2 sheets. Further, the decoration of ZnO on the exfoliated MoS2 sheets offered a bandgap energy reduction to about 2.77 eV, thus achieving an 87.12% degradation of methylene blue (MB) dye within 15 min of near UV-A irradiation (365 nm), as compared with pristine ZnO achieving only 56.89%. The photocatalysis-enhanced membrane filtration studies on the ZnO-MoS2 PCM showed a complete removal of MB dye (~99.95%). The UV-assisted dye degradation on the ZnO-MoS2 PCM offered a reduced membrane resistance, with the permeate flux gradually improving with the increase in the UV-irradiation time. The regeneration of the active ZnO-MoS2 layer also proved to be quite efficient with no compromise in the dye removal efficiency.

Improved Surface Functional and Photocatalytic Properties of Hybrid ZnO-MoS2-Deposited Membrane for Photocatalysis-Assisted Dye Filtration.

Driven by the fact that global mineral reserves are constantly depleting, systematic mandates and policies have been initiated to augment the recovery of essential resources, which have been categorised as critical raw material (CRMs). This article aims to highlight CRMs, specifically phosphorus and magnesium for their immense potential to be either solely or collectively recovered as economically-significant nutrients from waste and renewable resources. Continuous progress in membrane technologies and process integration to overcome the present technological challenges in recovery strategies are discussed to emphasize the recycling potential of CRMs in view of circular economy and resource management.

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Advanced Separation Processes for Recovery of Critical Raw Materials From Renewable and Waste Resources

Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymers are known for their diverse range of industrial applications and are considered important raw materials for membrane manufacturing. In view of circularity and resource efficiency, the present work mainly deals with the reusability of waste polymer ‘gels’ produced during the manufacturing of PVDF membranes. Herein, solidified PVDF gels were first prepared from polymer solutions as model waste gels, which were then subsequently used to prepare membranes via the phase inversion process. The structural analysis of fabricated membranes confirmed the retention of molecular integrity even after reprocessing, whereas the morphological analysis showed a symmetric bi-continuous porous structure. The filtration performance of membranes fabricated from waste gels was studied in a crossflow assembly. The results demonstrate the feasibility of gel-derived membranes as potential microfiltration membranes exhibiting a pure water flux of 478 LMH with a mean pore size of ~0.2 µm. To further evaluate industrial applicability, the performance of the membranes was tested in the clarification of industrial wastewater, and the membranes showed good recyclability with about 52% flux recovery. The performance of gel-derived membranes thus demonstrates the recycling of waste polymer gels for improving the sustainability of membrane fabrication processes.

/pdf/fabrication-and-evaluation-of-filtration-membranes-from-3qn7li3k.pdf

Saranya Rameshkumar

Papers

Bio-based and biodegradable polymers - State-of-the-art, challenges and emerging trends

Improved Surface Functional and Photocatalytic Properties of Hybrid ZnO-MoS2-Deposited Membrane for Photocatalysis-Assisted Dye Filtration.

Advanced Separation Processes for Recovery of Critical Raw Materials From Renewable and Waste Resources

Fabrication and Evaluation of Filtration Membranes from Industrial Polymer Waste