STARCH-BASED BIOPLASTICS

The main component of starch plastics is starch, which is a carbohydrate, a plant reserve polysaccharide. Starch is renewable and a widely available raw material. In the foreseeable future, thermoplastic starch-based polymers will be economically competitive biodegradable materials, and will enable the development of fully biodegradable products for specific uses. Starch-based films, which are mainly made of starch and blended with thermoplastic polyesters, are widely used to manufacture various plastics products; the properties of these films are similar to those of LDPE.  [citation T2.7, T2.11 T2.25]