Feature Papers in Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers, 2nd Edition

Dear Colleagues,

Global mass production of plastics started in the 1950s, with an estimated total number of 8.3 to 9.1 million metric tons (Mt) already manufactured up to now. Around only 9% of these have been recycled and 12% incinerated, whereas the remaining 79% has now been accumulated in landfills or the natural environment, causing serious environmental issues. The worldwide demand for sustainability and green economy leads to significant research interest in the field of polymer technology in three different directions:

• To replace the use of fossil-derived polymers in various applications with neat biomacromolecules or their derivatives;
• To employ green synthesis processes in order to recover and/or synthesize monomers derived from renewable resources (biobased monomers);
• To produce new eco-friendly, biodegradable polymers based on these monomers in a short time. 
• This Special Issue of the international open access journal Polymers aims to collect cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, original full-length research articles and critical or tutorial reviews on the topic of ‘Biomacromolecules and Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers’, including but not limited to:
• Properties of biomacromolecules and their applications in several fields;
• Synthesis and characterization of macromolecules derivatives with the desired properties;
• Eco-friendly processes to recover biobased monomers from biomass;
• Biomass treatment to produce monomers appropriate for polymer synthesis;
• Synthesis, properties, and applications of biobased and biodegradable polymers and copolymers;
• Development of biocomposites and nanocomposites;
• Biodegradable blends;
• Biobased polymer recycling methods and depolymerization techniques;  
• Advantages of biomacromolecules and/or biobased and biodegradable polymers.

Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Bikiaris
Dr. Waldo M. Argüelles-Monal
Guest Editors

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