Abstract
Polymers are considered as a versatile class of materials due to their enormous contributions that helped the mankind to reach the comfort level that we enjoy in today’s society. On the other hand, their extensive use creates various threats to the environment in terms of pollution to the atmosphere, various health hazards to humans and other living species, and moreover weakening of nonrenewable natural assets. The last few decades witnessed a paradigm shift toward development and commercialization of polymers from bio-based renewable resources that can suit very well for all those applications achieved by their petroleum-based counterparts. The present chapter analyzes in detail about the various life stages, starting from the sources, for a very important and widely commercialized biopolymer, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB). Recent developments in blends and composites of PHB with other polymers and fillers are discussed in terms of structure-property relationships and applications. Their contribution toward the preservation of the ecosystem and the sustainability is also described.
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Rajan, K.P., Thomas, S.P., Gopanna, A., Chavali, M. (2018). Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB): A Standout Biopolymer for Environmental Sustainability. In: Martínez, L., Kharissova, O., Kharisov, B. (eds) Handbook of Ecomaterials. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48281-1_92-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48281-1_92-1
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Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB): A Standout Biopolymer for Environmental Sustainability- Published:
- 28 November 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48281-1_92-2
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Polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB): A Standout Biopolymer for Environmental Sustainability- Published:
- 15 December 2017
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48281-1_92-1