Natural polymers based materials: back to the future

NÚÑEZ, RODRIGO NICOLÁS; PERALTA RAMOS, MARÍA LUZ; VILLANUEVA, MARÍA EMILIA; MEBERT, ANDREA; COPELLO, GUILLERMO JAVIER

Capital Federal

Congreso; FEWSUS International Conference. Circular bioeconomy systems for urban-rural co-prosperity.; 2022

The Universtity of Tennessee

Fossil based polymers have been studied from over a century and this research has been very successful in therms of the taking full profit of its source and regarding the performance of the obtained materials. Nevertheless, the massive use of these polymers is associated with long thermpollution. Natural polymers are sustainable building blocks for many materials. They have also been known for more than a century but their R&D for material obtaining has been less intensive. Oil shortage and environmental pollution has renewed and triggered the natural polymer interest and theirmaterials have moved to a priority level in most countries research agenda. Cellulose and natural rubber are some of the long time studied, and a few have raised as promising stars of the field, such as chitosan, but many, such as pectin, chitin and keratin, are understudied and even more are still to beconsidered.