BIODEGRADABLE PLANT OIL POLYMERS AND ITS EXTENDING APPLICATIONS - A REVIEW

Abstract

The review covers the recent developments and applications of biodegradable polymers. Over population, depleting resources, increasing dependence on non bio degradable plastics, global warming and environmental awareness leads to an in depth study about vegetable oil-based polymers as an alternative sustainable feedstock. Fats and oils are primarily water-insoluble hydrophobic substances. In the plant and animal kingdom oils are made up of one mole of glycerol and three moles of fatty acids commonly referred as triglycerides. Highly reactive sites like double bond in allylic positions and esters in the oil make it a highly interested raw material for polymer synthesis. Many polymers have excellent biocompatibilities and unique properties including shape memory, elasticity, tensile and mechanical strength. Novel polymers can be fabricated with reinforcing the polymer with fibre or nano materials. Some essential applications of plastics like packaging, textiles, coatings, automobile components, biomedical devices and household items makes it a daily object.