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Polymers
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Biobased Polymers and Sustainability
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Biobased Polymers and Sustainability

A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomacromolecules, Biobased and Biodegradable Polymers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 May 2023) | Viewed by 5983

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Maider Iturrondobeitia

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Engineering of Bilbao, building II-I, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Rafael Moreno Pitxitxi 3, 48013 Bilbao, Spain
Interests: biobased polymers; biomaterials; bioplastics; life cycle assessment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Even though plastics have changed our lives with their wide range of benefits, such as their durability, strength, and versatility, most of these conventional plastics are manufactured primarily from fossil resources such as crude oil, which are not only limited but also have a significant influence on global climate change. Biobased plastics, which are derived partly or completely from renewable resources such as sugarcane, sugar beet, castor bean, maize, and so on, although with a 6% of the market presence in the global plastics market, have seen an increasing growth and are projected to increase their presence in the next two decades. It is important to investigate their direct and indirect environmental impacts throughout the value chain of the products, even before their production. In addition to the final thermomechanical properties, it is important to communicate transparently to stakeholders (businesses and consumers) on the performance of developed products, which is insufficient as of now.

Dr. Maider Iturrondobeitia
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biobased polymers
  • sustainability
  • life cycle assessment
  • biocomposites

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 8631 KiB  
Article
Sustainable PHBH–Alumina Nanowire Nanocomposites: Properties and Life Cycle Assessment
by Julen Ibarretxe, Laura Alonso, Nora Aranburu, Gonzalo Guerrica-Echevarría, Amaia Orbea and Maider Iturrondobeitia
Polymers 2022, 14(22), 5033; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14225033 - 20 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1853
Abstract
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBH) is a bio-based polyester with the potential to replace some common polymers of fossil origin. However, PHBH presents serious limitations, such as low stiffness, tendency to undergo crystallization over long time periods and low resistance to thermal degradation during processing. In [...] Read more.
Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBH) is a bio-based polyester with the potential to replace some common polymers of fossil origin. However, PHBH presents serious limitations, such as low stiffness, tendency to undergo crystallization over long time periods and low resistance to thermal degradation during processing. In this work, we studied the use of alumina nanowires to generate PHBH–alumina nanocomposites, modifying the properties of PHBH to improve its usability. Solvent casting and melt blending were used to produce the nanocomposites. Then, their physicochemical properties and aquatic toxicity were measured. Finally, LCA was used to evaluate and compare the environmental impacts of several scenarios relevant to the processing and end of life (EoL) conditions of PHBHs. It was observed that, at low concentrations (3 wt.%), the alumina nanowires have a small positive impact on the stiffness and thermal degradation for the samples. However, for higher concentrations, the observed effects differed for each of the applied processing techniques (solvent casting or melt blending). The toxicity measurements showed that PHBH alone and in combination with alumina nanowires (10 wt.%) did not produce any impact on the survival of brine shrimp larvae after 24 and 48 h of exposure. The 18 impact categories evaluated by LCA allowed defining the most environmentally friendly conditions for the processing and EoL of PHBHs, and comparing the PHBH-related impacts to those of some of the most common fossil-based plastics. It was concluded that the preferable processing technique for PHBH is melt blending and that PHBH is unquestionably more environmentally friendly than every other analyzed plastic. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biobased Polymers and Sustainability)
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15 pages, 1660 KiB  
Article
Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship, Ontology-Based Model of the Antioxidant and Cell Protective Activity of Peat Humic Acids
by Maria V. Zykova, Konstantin S. Brazovskii, Kristina A. Bratishko, Evgeny E. Buyko, Lyudmila A. Logvinova, Sergey V. Romanenko, Andrey I. Konstantinov, Sergei V. Krivoshchekov, Irina V. Perminova and Mikhail V. Belousov
Polymers 2022, 14(16), 3293; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14163293 - 12 Aug 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1604
Abstract
Peat humic acids are well known for their wide range of biological effects which can be attributed to the complex chemical structure of naturally occurring humic substances. One of the promising tools is an ontology-based quantitative analysis of the relationship between physical and [...] Read more.
Peat humic acids are well known for their wide range of biological effects which can be attributed to the complex chemical structure of naturally occurring humic substances. One of the promising tools is an ontology-based quantitative analysis of the relationship between physical and chemical parameters describing a chemical structure of peat humic acids and their biological activity. This article demonstrates the feasibility of such an approach to estimate the antioxidant and cell protective properties of the peat humic acids. The structural parameters of the peat humic acids were studied by electronic, fluorescence, infrared, 13C-NMR spectroscopy, titrimetric analysis, elemental C,H,N, and O- analysis, and gel chromatography. Antioxidant and antiradical activities were assessed by physicochemical methods of analysis: electronic paramagnetic resonance, cathodic voltammetry, ABTS•+ scavenging, assay of DPPH radical-scavenging activity, assay of superoxide radical-scavenging activity, iron chelating activity, and scavenging of hydroxyl radicals. Cytoprotective activity was evaluated by the neutral red-based cytotoxicity test in 3T3-L1 cell culture in a wide range of concentrations. Assessment of intracellular ROS production was carried out using a 2,7-dichlorodihydrofluoresceindiacetate (DCFDA) fluorescent probe. Intracellular ROS production was induced using two common prooxidants (tert-butyl hydroperoxide, Fe2+ ions). We suggested an ontology-based model for the antioxidant and cytoprotective activity of humic acids based on experimental data and numerical models. This model establishes the way to further research on the biological effects of humic acids and provides a useful tool for numerical simulation of these effects. Remarkable antioxidant and cell protective activity of humic acids makes them a promising natural source of new pharmaceutical substances that feature a wide range of biological effects. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biobased Polymers and Sustainability)
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13 pages, 3306 KiB  
Article
Cassava Starch-Based Thermo-Responsive Pb(II)-Imprinted Material: Preparation and Adsorption Performance on Pb(II)
by Meiyuan Lv, Yuhan Du, Tingting Zhang, Xueyu Du and Xueqiong Yin
Polymers 2022, 14(4), 828; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14040828 - 21 Feb 2022
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1920
Abstract
Heavy metal pollution is currently an increasing threat to the ecological environment, and the development of novel absorbents with remarkable adsorption performance and cost-effectiveness are highly desired. In this study, a cassava starch-based Pb(II)-imprinted thermo-responsive hydrogel (CPIT) had been prepared by using cassava [...] Read more.
Heavy metal pollution is currently an increasing threat to the ecological environment, and the development of novel absorbents with remarkable adsorption performance and cost-effectiveness are highly desired. In this study, a cassava starch-based Pb(II)-imprinted thermo-responsive hydrogel (CPIT) had been prepared by using cassava starch as the bio-substrate, N-isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAM) as the thermo-responsive monomer, and Pb(II) as the template ions. Later, a variety of modern techniques including FTIR, DSC, SEM, and TGA were employed to comprehensively analyze the characteristic functional groups, thermo-responsibility, morphology, and thermal stability of CPIT. The obtained material exhibited superior performance in adsorption of Pb(II) and its maximum adsorption capacity was high—up to 114.6 mg/g under optimized conditions. Notably, the subsequent desorption (regeneration) process was fairly convenient by simply rinsing with cold deionized water and the highest desorption efficiency could be achieved as 93.8%. More importantly, the adsorption capacity of regenerated CPIT still maintained 88.2% of the value of starting material even after 10 recyclings. In addition, the excellence of CPIT in selective adsorption of Pb(II) should also be highlighted as its superior adsorption ability (97.9 mg/g) over the other seven interfering metal ions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biobased Polymers and Sustainability)
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