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Vegetative and microbial proteins for bioplastics applications – a review in the indian context
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This review examines the potential of vegetative and microbial proteins — including gluten, whey, zein, soy, water hyacinth, and duckweed — as sustainable feedstocks for bioplastics, outlining extraction methods, processing techniques, and the challenges that remain before protein-based bioplastics can replace conventional fossil-derived plastics at scale.
The generation of plastic waste is around 400 million tons per year. The non-degradable nature of fossil-derived plastics creates pollution, one of the most concerning environmental challenges faced by society, agencies, and governments today. A promising alternative to plastics is bioplastics. Bioplastics are biopolymer-based plastics derived from biomass or manufactured from the processing of monomers derived from biomass. Proteins are naturally occurring biomolecules that are one of the most suitable natural polymers for making bioplastics. In the form of films, proteins possess various desirable properties such as mechanical strength, gas impermeability, and durability. They are also renewable and easily accessible. Making bioplastics from wasted or unused protein sources is the ideal scenario. This review discusses the opportunities that come along with vegetative and microbial proteins to make bioplastics. It covers various sources for protein extraction, such as gluten, whey, zein, and soy from terrestrial sources and water hyacinth and duckweed from aquatic sources. It also discusses the methods of processing vegetative proteins to make bio-plastic products, the current challenges in employing bioplastics for typical applications, and the prospects to steer us towards a clean and sustainable future.
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