Biodegradable Polyesters from Renewable Resources
Abstract
Environmental concerns have led to the development of biorenewable polymers with the ambition to utilize them at an industrial scale. Poly(lactic acid) and poly(hydroxyalkanoates) are semicrystalline, biorenewable polymers that have been identified as the most promising alternatives to conventional plastics. However, both are inherently susceptible to brittleness and degradation during thermal processing; we discuss several approaches to overcome these problems to create a balance between durability and biodegradability. For example, copolymers and blends can increase ductility and the thermal-processing window. Furthermore, chain modifications (e.g., branching/crosslinking), processing techniques (fiber drawing/annealing), or additives (plasticizers/nucleating agents) can improve mechanical properties and prevent thermal degradation during processing. Finally, we examine the impacts of morphology on end-of-life degradation to complete the picture for the most common renewable polymers.
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Degradable analogues composed of poly(lactide) as hard A blocks and an amorphous aliphatic polyester homopolymer or statistical copolymer as the soft B block have been investigated.
“Inspired by the incredible versatility of styrenic ABA triblock polymers, we and others have investigated degradable analogues composed of poly(lactide) (PLA) as the hard ' A ' blocks and an amorphous aliphatic polyester homopolymer 7 -17 or statistical copolymer 18,19 as the soft ' B ' block.”
From Aliphatic Polyester Block Polymer Design (2016) · cites this paper as [7]
The majority of aliphatic lactones that have been polymerized are derived from fossil fuels or from prohibitively expensive natural products.
“Although myriad aliphatic lactones with diverse structures have been polymerized, the majority of these monomers have been derived from fossil fuels or from prohibitively expensive natural products.”
From Aliphatic Polyester Block Polymer Design (2016) · cites this paper as [7]
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- Authors
- Tsui, A., Wright, Z. C., & Frank, C. W.
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Tsui, Amy
- Wright, Zachary C.
- Venue
- Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- Publisher
- Annual Reviews
- Published
- 2013-06-07
- Volume
- 4
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 143-170
- ISSN
- 1947-5438 (ISSN-L)
- 1947-5446
- OpenAlex
- W2156972686
- Cited by
- 68
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 0.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (publishedVersion, public-domain)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Polymer crystallization and properties
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Natural Fiber Reinforced Composites
- Keywords
- biodegradable polyesters, bio-based polymers, polylactic acid, polyhydroxyalkanoates, semicrystalline polymers, thermal degradation, copolymers, polymer blends, fiber drawing, plasticizers, nucleating agents, polymer morphology, mechanical properties
- MeSH terms
- Models, Chemical, Plastics, Polyesters, Polymers, Lactic Acid
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