Application and Development Prospect Analysis of Bio-based Materials

What are bio-based materials?

Bio-based materials are based on renewable biomass such as grains, legumes, straw, bamboo and wood powder as raw materials, and bio-polymer materials or monomers are obtained through biotransformation, and then further polymerized to form polymer materials.

Biomass materials include basic bio-based chemicals such as bio-alcohols, organic acids, alkanes, and olefins obtained through biosynthesis, bioprocessing, and biorefinery processes, as well as bio-based plastics, bio-based fibers, sugar engineering products, bio-based rubber and Plastic materials and the like are obtained by thermoplastic processing of biomass.

Application of Bio-based Materials

Applications for bio-based materials are diverse. We often use in our daily life such as packaging materials, disposable daily necessities, etc., can be made of bio-based materials. At the same time, bio-based materials can also be applied to biomedical materials, drug controlled release materials and bone fixation materials with high technical content and high added value.

Bio-based plastics

As one of the top varieties of bio-based materials, bio-based plastics can be divided into two categories according to their degradation properties, bio-degradable bio-based plastics and non-biodegradable bio-based plastics. Biodegradable bio-based plastics include polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoate, carbon dioxide copolymer, dibasic acid diol copolyester, polyvinyl alcohol, etc., and non-biodegradable bio-based plastics include polyethylene, nylon, polyurethane, etc.

At present, my country's technological research and development are mainly based on biodegradable bio-based plastics. Because of its non-polluting production process, it can be biodegraded and can be recycled in nature. Therefore, it is an ideal green polymer material! Let us briefly introduce it to you. Several biodegradable bio-based plastics.

PLA

Polylactic acid, also known as polylactide (polylactide), is a polymer obtained by polymerizing lactic acid as the main raw material, mainly using corn, cassava, etc. as raw materials. Polylactic acid has good thermal stability and solvent resistance, and can be processed in a variety of ways. In addition to being biodegradable, products made of polylactic acid also have good biocompatibility, gloss, transparency, hand feel and heat resistance, and have certain bacteria resistance, flame retardancy and UV resistance. It has a wide range of uses and can be used as packaging materials, fibers and non-woven fabrics.

Polyhydroxyalkanoate PHA

Polyhydroxyalkanoate is an intracellular polyester synthesized by many bacteria. It has good biodegradability, biocompatibility, optical activity, piezoelectricity, gas barrier properties and other properties. Polyhydroxyalkanoate can be used in biodegradable packaging materials, tissue engineering materials, sustained-release materials, electrical materials and medical materials, but at the same time it also has a high production cost.

Polycaprolactone PLC

Polycaprolactone Polycaprolactone (PCL for short) is formed by ring-opening polymerization of ε-caprolactone in the presence of metal organic compounds (such as tetraphenyltin) as catalyst and dihydroxy or trihydroxy as initiator. polyester. PCL has good biocompatibility, biodegradability, solvent solubility, high crystallinity and low melting point. Its application fields are very broad, including controlled release drug carriers, cells, tissue culture scaffolds, fully degradable plastic surgical sutures, high-strength film filament moldings, plastic low temperature impact performance modifiers and plasticizers, medical Modeling materials, industry, art modeling materials, toys, organic colorants, thermal copy ink adhesives, hot melt adhesives, etc.

The prospect of bio-based materials

In today's "low-carbon economy" environment, the development prospects of bio-based materials are very optimistic.

Compared with petroleum-based materials, bio-based materials are mainly derived from plants, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions and dependence on petroleum. At the same time, its production process is greener, which is in line with people's pursuit of environmental protection. Because of its environmental friendliness and resource conservation, bio-based materials will gradually become another emerging leading industry leading the world's economic development and technological innovation.