Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Bioplastics in the circular bioeconomy: Production pathways, biodegradation mechanisms, and environmental implications

This comprehensive review examines how bioplastics — plastics made from renewable biological sources — fit into a circular economy, covering how they are produced, how microorganisms break them down, and the environmental risks when degradation is incomplete. A key concern is that even bio-based plastics can form microplastics if they do not fully degrade in real-world conditions like marine or soil environments, meaning that simply switching to bioplastics does not automatically solve the microplastic pollution problem.

2026 Figshare
Article Tier 2

Exploration of Bioplastics: A Review

This review assessed bioplastics as alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, covering their production, properties, biodegradability, and limitations as a solution to plastic pollution. While bioplastics offer reduced fossil fuel dependence, the authors noted that many only degrade under industrial composting conditions and are not a complete solution to environmental plastic accumulation.

2022 Oriental Journal Of Chemistry 13 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastics, Bioplastics and Water Pollution

This review synthesizes what is known about microplastic occurrence in aquatic systems and assesses whether bioplastics and biodegradable materials could meaningfully reduce plastic pollution. It concludes that while bioplastics hold promise, their environmental fate varies widely and they are not a simple solution without improved waste management infrastructure.

2023
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

Biodegradable Bioplastics: A Review of State-of-the-Art, Challenges, and Future Directions

This review covers the current state, challenges, and future directions for biodegradable bioplastics derived from organic sources like starch and cellulose. While bioplastics are promoted as alternatives to conventional plastics, not all fully break down in natural environments, meaning some can still generate microplastic fragments.

2023 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioplastics and the environment: Solution or Green Illusion?

This review critically evaluates whether bioplastics are genuinely environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional plastics, finding that many bioplastics degrade incompletely under real-world conditions, form persistent microplastic fragments, and may pose ecological risks comparable to conventional plastics.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials Plastics
Article Tier 2

Prospective Biodegradable Plastics from Biomass Conversion Processes

This review surveys the potential of plant biomass as a source of biodegradable plastic alternatives, covering different types of bioplastics and their production processes. Replacing petroleum-based plastics with biodegradable bio-based materials would significantly reduce persistent microplastic pollution.

2018 InTech eBooks 44 citations
Article Tier 2

Potential environmental impacts of bioplastic degradation in natural marine environments: A comprehensive review

This review examines the environmental impacts of biodegradable plastics degrading in marine environments, finding that their microscale breakdown raises significant concerns about contributing to microplastic pollution rather than eliminating it. The authors conclude that biodegradable plastics require reevaluation as petroleum-based plastic substitutes given the incomplete understanding of their behavior at the microscale in marine ecosystems.

2025 Marine Environmental Research
Article Tier 2

Understanding bioplastic materials - current state and trends

This review summarizes the current state of bioplastic materials, examining their properties, applications, and potential as alternatives to conventional petroleum-based plastics that contribute to environmental pollution. The authors assess both the promise and limitations of bioplastics in reducing the global plastic waste crisis.

2020 Journal of the Serbian Chemical Society 31 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioplastic- Futuristic Approach

This review examines bioplastics as a sustainable alternative to petrochemical-based plastics, covering materials derived from biomass such as starch, cellulose, and microbial polymers. The paper surveys the biodegradation properties, production methods, and limitations of current bioplastic technologies as part of a broader strategy to address global plastic pollution.

2024 INTERANTIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN ENGINEERING AND MANAGEMENT
Article Tier 2

Are biodegradable plastics a promising solution to solve the global plastic pollution?

This review examines whether biodegradable plastics are a viable solution to global plastic pollution and finds the answer is complicated. Researchers note that most biodegradable plastics require specific environmental conditions to break down and cannot yet replace most conventional plastics. The study concludes that while biodegradable plastics may be part of the solution, they should not be seen as a free pass for continued overconsumption, since littering behavior does not change simply because a material is labeled biodegradable.

2020 Environmental Pollution 595 citations
Article Tier 2

Biodegradable plastics in the marine environment: a potential source of risk?

This review examines whether biodegradable plastics offer a genuine solution to marine plastic pollution, finding that their environmental behavior depends heavily on specific conditions and that they may still pose risks in marine environments where decomposition is slow.

2022 Water Emerging Contaminants & Nanoplastics 30 citations
Article Tier 2

Application of biodegradable plastic and their environmental impacts: A revie

This review examines the environmental impacts of conventional petroleum-based plastics and evaluates biodegradable alternatives made from plant-based and other organic materials. Researchers found that while bioplastics show promise for reducing long-term pollution, their degradation rates vary significantly depending on environmental conditions. The study emphasizes that switching to biodegradable plastics alone is not enough without proper waste management infrastructure.

2024 World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews 7 citations
Article Tier 2

Recycling of Bioplastics: Routes and Benefits

Researchers reviewed how bioplastics — plastics made from biological sources rather than petroleum — combined with mechanical and chemical recycling could replace conventional plastics and help reduce microplastic buildup in marine ecosystems that ultimately accumulates in humans.

2020 Journal of Polymers and the Environment 342 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioplastics in the Sea: Rapid In-Vitro Evaluation of Degradability and Persistence at Natural Temperatures

Researchers evaluated the marine degradability of multiple bioplastic materials at natural seawater temperatures, finding that most bioplastics persist in ocean environments rather than degrading quickly, challenging assumptions that bioplastics represent a straightforward solution to marine plastic pollution.

2022 Frontiers in Marine Science 23 citations
Review Tier 2

Exploring the hidden environmental pollution of microplastics derived from bioplastics: A review

This review examines the often-overlooked problem that even bioplastics, marketed as eco-friendly alternatives, can break down into micro- and nanoplastics in the environment. Research since 2012 has identified multiple degradation pathways, including UV exposure, mechanical wear, and biodegradation, that fragment bioplastics into tiny particles. The toxicity of these bioplastic-derived microparticles is still poorly understood, highlighting a hidden source of plastic pollution.

2024 Chemosphere 26 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

Plastic Pollution. The Role of (Bio)Degradable Plastics and Other Solutions

This review examines the scope of plastic pollution including micro and nanoplastics (MNPs), their environmental and health impacts, and potential mitigation strategies including biodegradable plastics and design-for-end-of-life approaches. The authors evaluate the conditions under which biodegradable plastics can and cannot serve as viable solutions to plastic pollution.

2022 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic Waste: Current Environmental Pollution, Health Hazard and Biodegradation Strategies and Its Management

This review paper surveys the scope of global plastic pollution, covering environmental contamination, health hazards, and biodegradation strategies. The study highlights that with plastic production exceeding 390 million tons by 2021, effective waste management and biodegradation approaches are urgently needed to address microplastic accumulation.

2024 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioplastic Degradation, Production and Genetic Improvements of Bioplastic Producing Strains: A review

This review summarizes research on bioplastic degradation by bacteria that can break down these materials, and examines genetic improvements that could enhance their biodegradability. As bioplastics grow in use, understanding their true environmental fate is critical to ensuring they deliver real sustainability benefits.

2023 Mağallaẗ ʻulūm al-rāfidayn 1 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

Incarnation of bioplastics: recuperation of plastic pollution

This review explored bioplastics as eco-friendly alternatives to petroleum-based plastics, examining their production from agricultural and kitchen waste products and their potential for microbial decomposition to help reduce plastic pollution.

2021 International Journal of Environmental & Analytical Chemistry 28 citations
Article Tier 2

A Review: Investigation of Plastics Effect on the Environment, Bioplastic Global Market Share and Its Future Perspectives

This review covers the environmental and human health impacts of plastics, with a focus on microplastics and nanoplastics, and reviews global trends in bioplastic production as an alternative. It finds that while bioplastics show promise, current production scale is far too small to address the existing plastic pollution crisis.

2019 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Bioplastic from Renewable Biomass: A Facile Solution for a Greener Environment

Researchers reviewed the science and applications of bioplastics — plastics made from renewable biological sources like starch, proteins, and algae — as a lower-impact alternative to conventional petroleum-based plastics that shed microplastics and persist in the environment. Bioplastics can match many properties of traditional plastics while offering biodegradability and a smaller carbon footprint, with especially promising uses in food packaging, agriculture, and medicine.

2021 Earth Systems and Environment 328 citations