Biobased and Biodegradable PHBV-Based Polymer Blends and Biocomposites: Properties and Applications

Petroleum-based polymers have made a significant contribution to the human society due to their extraordinary adaptability and processability. However, over the past few decades, the widespread application of plastics in various sectors has led to growing concerns over the undesirable environmental impact of plastics. Many strategies including more efficient plastics waste management and employment of biodegradable materials obtained from renewable resources have been investigated. Plastics waste management is at the beginning stages of development and has proven more expensive than expected. Thus, there is a growing interest in developing sustainable biobased and biodegradable plastics produced from renewable resources, which can offer a comparable performance while providing additional advantages such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, and a reduced carbon footprint. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) is one of the most promising biobased and biodegradable polymers. In fact, many petroleumbased polymers such as poly(propylene) (PP) and polystyrene (PS) can be potentially replaced by PHBV due to its unique material properties. Despite PHBV's attractive properties, there are several drawbacks including high cost, brittleness, and thermal instability, which hamper the widespread usage of this specific polymer. Several strategies (such as forming blends or composites with biodegradable polymers, natural fibers or inorganic fillers, as well as developing novel processing techniques) have been investigated to overcome the aforementioned shortcomings, which will be discussed in this chapter.