Table 1.
Main properties of common bio-based and traditional plastic materials.
| Monomers and Sources | Tensile Strength [MPa] | Biodegradability | Water Vapor Permeability (g·mil/m2·Day·kPa) |
Density (g/cm3) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Environment | Biodegradability (%) | |||||
| PLA | Lactide acid from starch or sugar cane corn stover, sugarcane bagasse, rice hulls, woody crops and forest residues [34] | 37−66 (at yield) [49] | Compost (30 days) |
60–70 [49] | 400 [50] | 1.21–1.25 [51] |
| 61.6–49.6 [52] | Soil (120 days) |
0 [49] | ||||
| 21–60 [51] | Marine (180 days) |
3–4 [49] | ||||
| PHA | Hydroxyalkanoates accumulated inside the cells of microorganisms [28] | 17–104 [52] | Compost (180 days) |
94 [53] | / | 1.25 [54] |
| Soil (90 days) |
100 [53] | |||||
| Marine (365 days) |
52–82 [53] | |||||
| PHBV | Hydroxybutyric monomers and hydroxyvalerate from carbon sources [36] | 20−40 (at yield) [49] | Compost (28 days) |
80 [49] | 30 [50] | 1.18–1.262 [51] |
| 40 [51] | Soil (280 days) |
48.5 [49] | ||||
| Marine (180 days) |
38–45 [49] | |||||
| PCL | 6-hydroxycaproic acid, ε-caprolactone [37] | 25−33 (at yield) [49] | Compost (91 days) |
100 [55] | 200 [50] | 1.11–1.146 [51] |
| 20.7–4 [51] | Soil (280 days) |
50 [55] | ||||
| Marine (365 days) |
30 [56] | |||||
| PBAT | Butanediol (BDO), adipic acid (AA) and terephthalic acid (PTA) [38] | 13−15 (at yield) [49] | Compost (45 days) |
34–67 [49] | 1200 [50] | 1.26 [57] |
| Soil (120 days) |
6.6 [49] | |||||
| Marine (28 days) |
1–1.4 [49] | |||||
| PBS | Succinic acid from glucose, starch, xylose, or oil sources [39] | 30−35 (at yield) [49] | Compost (160 days) |
90 [49] | 90 [50] | 1.26 [58] |
| 24.8 [52] | Soil (28 days) |
1 [49] | ||||
| Marine (28 days) |
1 [49] | |||||
| Bio-PE | Ethanol from sugar [42] | Similar to petroleum-based [49] 17.9–33.1 [52] |
Very slow [52]/Not biodegradable [59] | 3 [50] | Similar to petroleum-based [60] |
|
| Bio-PP | Methanol, isopropanol, ethanol, butanol, and glycerin from biomass [43] | 29.3–38.6 [52] | Very slow [52] | / | Similar to petroleum-based [60] | |
| Bio-PET | Terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol from biomass (forest residues, corn stover) [44] | Similar to petroleum-based [49] 50 [52] |
Very slow [52]/Not biodegradable [59] | / | Similar to petroleum-based [60] | |
| Bio-PA | 11-aminoundecanoic acid, 1,8-octanedicarboxylic acid, 1,10-decanediamine) from castor oil [45] | 37−41 (at yield) [49] | Not biodegradable | / | Similar to petroleum-based [60] | |
| PE | Ethylene from fossil sources | 10–32 (at yield) [49] | Not biodegradable | 1.7–8.7 [61] | 1.3–1.8 [60] | |
| PP | Propylene from fossil sources | 15–27.5 (at yield) [49] | Not biodegradable | 4 [50] | ~0.95 [60] | |
| PET | Terephthalic acid from fossil sources | 55−79 (at yield) [49] | Not biodegradable | 20 [50] | 1.33–1.48 [60] | |
| PA | Caprolactam(nylon–6), Adipic acid (nylon–6,6) from fossil sources | 49–69 [61] | Not biodegradable | 350 [50] | 1.07–1.24 [60] | |