Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Overcoming Challenges in the Commercialization of Biopolymers: From Research to Applications—A Review

This review examines the barriers preventing biopolymers from reaching commercial markets despite growing research interest. Researchers explored how fiber properties and processing conditions affect biodegradability, and how biopolymers can be manufactured on existing equipment. The study highlights biopolymers as a promising alternative to conventional plastics that could help reduce microplastic accumulation in the environment.

2024 Polymers 17 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioplastics and biodegradable plastics: A review of recent advances, feasibility and cleaner production

Researchers systematically reviewed over 280 articles on bioplastics and biodegradable plastics, finding that while polylactic acid and polyhydroxyalkanoates reduce fossil fuel dependence, their higher production costs, lower durability, and tendency to form microplastics when improperly composted remain significant barriers to replacing conventional plastics.

2025 The Science of The Total Environment 59 citations
Article Tier 2

Use phase and end-of-life modeling of biobased biodegradable plastics in life cycle assessment: a review

This review examined how biobased and biodegradable plastics are modeled in life cycle assessments, particularly for their use phase and end-of-life scenarios, identifying methodological challenges and inconsistencies that make it difficult to accurately compare the environmental performance of bioplastics to conventional plastics.

2022 Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy 39 citations
Article Tier 2

Designing biodegradable alternatives to commodity polymers

This review examined the challenges and strategies for designing biodegradable alternatives to commodity polymers, acknowledging that while replacement is necessary, sustainable alternatives must match the performance and economics of conventional plastics.

2023 Chemical Society Reviews 33 citations
Article Tier 2

The future of plastic

Researchers examine whether biodegradable polymers can solve plastic's environmental crisis, noting that while plastic is enormously useful, society's heavy reliance on it has created a global pollution problem that biodegradable alternatives alone are unlikely to fully resolve.

2018 Nature Communications 108 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrating bioplastics into the US plastics supply chain: towards a policy research agenda for the bioplastic transition

This policy analysis argues that bioplastics could replace conventional petroleum-based plastics but face barriers including high production costs and a poorly coordinated supply chain, particularly in North America. While bioplastics are relevant to reducing future plastic pollution, the paper is focused on industrial policy rather than microplastic environmental or health impacts — it is only tangentially related.

2023 Frontiers in Environmental Science 12 citations
Article Tier 2

Recent Advances in Bioplastics: Application and Biodegradation

This review examines recent advances in bioplastics — including their applications in packaging, agriculture, and medicine — and critically evaluates their actual biodegradation performance in both natural and industrial environments, finding a significant gap between claims and real-world outcomes.

2020 Polymers 376 citations
Article Tier 2

Addressing Stakeholder Concerns Regarding the Effective Use of Bio-Based and Biodegradable Plastics

This study reviewed stakeholder concerns about bio-based and biodegradable plastics, finding that consumer confusion about what biodegradable means, inconsistent labeling, and lack of adequate composting infrastructure are major barriers to adoption, and that clearer standards and communication are needed to realize their environmental potential.

2021 Resources 20 citations
Article Tier 2

Integrated and Consolidated Review of Plastic Waste Management and Bio-Based Biodegradable Plastics: Challenges and Opportunities

This review integrates and consolidates the global status of plastic waste management alongside the development of bio-based and biodegradable polymer alternatives. With cumulative plastic production reaching 8.3 billion tonnes by 2015 and 79% of plastic waste ending up in landfills or the environment, the review identifies urgent need for both improved waste management and scalable bioplastic alternatives.

2020 Sustainability 164 citations
Article Tier 2

Paving the way for biobased materials : a roadmap for the market introduction of PHAs

This roadmap paper examines barriers to large-scale commercial production of PHA biopolymers, which are biodegradable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics. Scaling up PHA production is essential for offering plastic manufacturers sustainable alternatives that would not persist as microplastics in the environment.

2022 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Benefits and Drawbacks of Bioplastic as an Alternative of Conventional Plastic towards Sustainable Plastic T

This review examines bioplastics derived from renewable biomass sources (such as corn starch, vegetable oils, and food waste) as sustainable alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics, evaluating their benefits and drawbacks across environmental performance, biodegradability, and scalability. The article explores whether bioplastics represent a viable pathway toward more sustainable plastic use given growing concerns over the non-biodegradable nature and resource intensity of conventional plastics.

2024 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AGRIWORLD
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable Polymers: The Future of Sustainable Plastic Alternatives

This review examines biodegradable polymers as sustainable alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, evaluating their potential to reduce microplastic pollution and ecological degradation. The authors assess the performance, environmental fate, and scalability of current biodegradable materials, identifying key challenges for widespread adoption across packaging and consumer product applications.

2025 Scriptora International Journal of Research and Innovation (SIJRI)
Article Tier 2

An exploration of future of bioplastics and their physical, chemical and biological characteristic through bibliometric Analysis

This review explored the future of bioplastics as alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, examining their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics and comparing degradation behavior in different environments. The paper assessed current limitations in bioplastic performance and biodegradability that must be addressed before they can effectively replace conventional plastics at scale.

2024 Research Square (Research Square)
Article Tier 2

Recent Preparations and Innovations in the Biodegradable Bioplastics and Biocomposites (A Review)

This review covered recent advances in biodegradable bioplastics and biocomposites as alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, including their preparation methods, properties, and environmental performance. The authors noted that while bioplastics reduce reliance on fossil fuels and potentially decrease microplastic persistence, production costs and performance limitations remain barriers.

2025 Russian Journal of General Chemistry
Article Tier 2

Emerging Bio-Based Polymers from Lab to Market: Current Strategies, Market Dynamics and Research Trends

This review explores the growing market for bio-based polymers, which are plastics made from renewable biological sources rather than petroleum. These materials are designed to be compostable and biodegradable, addressing public concern about plastic waste and microplastic pollution. While promising, the review notes that challenges remain in making bio-based plastics durable and cost-competitive enough to replace conventional plastics at scale.

2023 C – Journal of Carbon Research 62 citations
Article Tier 2

Chemical-Physical Characterization of Bio-Based Biodegradable Plastics in View of Identifying Suitable Recycling/Recovery Strategies and Numerical Modeling of PLA Pyrolysis

Researchers characterized several bio-based and biodegradable polymer alternatives to conventional plastics using chemical-physical methods, assessing their suitability for industrial composting and identifying challenges in managing these bioplastics in the existing waste stream.

2023 Waste and Biomass Valorization 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Discussion about suitable applications for biodegradable plastics regarding their sources, uses and end of life

Researchers critically evaluated the scientific basis for biodegradable plastics as a solution to plastic pollution, concluding that no plastic biodegrades universally across all ecosystems, that treating the environment as a waste treatment system is unacceptable, and that compostable plastics require dedicated collection infrastructure to deliver on their environmental promise.

2022 Waste Management 70 citations
Article Tier 2

Expanding Policy for Biodegradable Plastic Products and Market Dynamics of Bio-Based Plastics: Challenges and Opportunities

This review examined the policy landscape and market dynamics for biodegradable and bio-based plastics, highlighting growing regulatory interest but warning that without standardized biodegradability testing and clear labeling requirements, consumer and industrial adoption may create new environmental problems.

2021 Sustainability 135 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review of Bioplastics and Their Adoption in the Circular Economy

This review examines the current landscape of bioplastics, including bio-based and biodegradable materials, as potential alternatives to conventional fossil-fuel-derived plastics. Researchers assessed standards, life cycle analyses, and environmental performance of various bioplastic types. The study highlights that while bioplastics offer potential benefits for reducing fossil resource dependency, challenges remain around their actual environmental performance and integration into circular economy systems.

2021 Polymers 300 citations
Article Tier 2

Innovations in applications and prospects of bioplastics and biopolymers: a review

Researchers reviewed the chemistry, applications, and market outlook for bioplastic polymers including PHA, PLA, and cellulose-based materials, finding they offer meaningful environmental advantages over petroleum plastics but require further economic and performance optimization before achieving widespread commercial adoption.

2021 Environmental Chemistry Letters 421 citations
Article Tier 2

Challenges in biodegradation of non-degradable thermoplastic waste: From environmental impact to operational readiness

Researchers assessed current and emerging methods for degrading non-recyclable thermoplastics — PE, PP, PS, and PET — comparing thermal, chemical, and biological approaches by technology readiness level, concluding that biodegradation is promising but still limited by slow rates, and outlining a pathway toward greener, scalable plastic-waste treatment.

2021 Biotechnology Advances 121 citations
Article Tier 2

The Management of Polymer and Biodegradable Composite Waste in Relation to Petroleum-Based Thermoplastic Polymer Waste—In Terms of Energy Consumption and Processability

This study compared the energy requirements and processing challenges of managing biodegradable polymer waste versus conventional petroleum-based plastic waste, finding that biodegradable plastics often require more energy to recycle. The results complicate the narrative that biodegradable plastics are straightforwardly better for the environment.

2021 Sustainability 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Are bioplastics the solution to the plastic pollution problem?

This review examines whether bioplastics can meaningfully reduce plastic pollution, concluding that while bioplastics offer some advantages, they are not a straightforward solution because many require industrial composting conditions and their environmental benefits depend heavily on end-of-life management.

2023 PLoS Biology 21 citations
Article Tier 2

Marine Biodegradability and Toxicity of Commercially Available Biobased Plastics -A Sustainable Alternative To Petrochemical Plastics?

This conference abstract examines whether commercially available biobased plastics degrade in the marine environment and whether they produce toxic byproducts. Results suggest that some bioplastics do not biodegrade effectively in seawater and may pose similar risks to marine organisms as conventional petroleum-based plastics.

2020 VBN Forskningsportal (Aalborg Universitet)