Strengthening the Use of Biomass for Synthesis of Bioplastics and Other Compounds, Using Radiation Technology

The expanded use of natural or biodegradable polymer-based products for different applications is needed to respond to the mounting negative environmental impact of single-use plastics and to reduce the use of petrol-based compounds for such products. Nature annually produces a huge amount of biopolymers. Current observations show the annual formation of about 400 billion tons of cellulose, 10 billion tons of chitin and 100 billion tons of lignin. However, mankind is able to convert only a small fraction of this amount into demanded products (380 million tons of cellulose, 10 thousand tons of chitin, and 1.1 million tons of lignin). Undoubtedly, expanding the methods and increasing the degree of conversion of renewable polymers would be able to meet the urgent need for reducing the impact of petroleum-based compounds on the environment. Radiation processing is a versatile and efficient tool for polymer modification to obtain task-specific functionalities suitable for a variety of applications that can contribute to successfully converting natural waste into valuable products, as well as into feedstocks for polymer production.
Radiation technology has been successfully used on a large scale for the processing of polyolefins and rubbers, which gives confidence in the successful solution of similar problems regarding natural polymers. The evident similarity between the mechanisms of radiolytic transformation of synthetic and natural polymers reveals a number of potential approaches to economical and safe solutions for the use of natural polymers in energy and environmental management. Although there are challenges in applying radiation technology and natural polymer together, such as radiation degradation or complicated radiolytic mechanisms, it is possible with extensive basic research to understand the reasons behind the change in a parameter and the structure-property relationship of the synthesized materials. Such research contributes to the development of new technologies and new products, as well as the scientific benefit it provides.