Biopolymeric sustainable materials and their emerging applications

Advancements in polymer science and engineering have helped the scientific community to shift its attention towards the use of environmentally benign materials for reducing the environmental impact of conventional synthetic plastics. Biopolymers are environmentally benign, chemically versatile, sustainable, biocompatible, biodegradable, inherently functional, and ecofriendly materials that exhibit tremendous potential for a wide range of applications including food, electronics, agriculture, textile, biomedical, and cosmetics. This review also inspires the researchers toward more consumption of biopolymer-based composite materials as an alternative to synthetic composite materials. Herein, an overview of the latest knowledge of different natural- and syntheticbased biodegradable polymers and their fiber-reinforced composites is presented. The review discusses different degradation mechanisms of biopolymer-based composites as well as their sustainability aspects. This review also elucidates current challenges, future opportunities, and emerging applications of biopolymeric sustainable composites in numerous engineering fields. Finally, this review proposes biopolymeric sustainable materials as a propitious solution to the contemporary environmental crisis.

Automated summary

This review presents the latest research on biopolymers and fiber-reinforced composites in the field of environmentally friendly materials. The study found that biopolymers have many excellent properties and have wide-ranging applications in various fields such as food, electronics, agriculture, textile, biomedical, and cosmetics. The review also discusses the degradation mechanisms, sustainability, as well as the challenges and opportunities of biopolymeric sustainable composites.