ABSTRACT
SOY protein is a major renewable biopolymer with an affordable price. There-fore, its use in biodegradable plastics for replacing petroleum-based polymers is a viable venture. Most of the single-use commercial plastics are currently made from non-biodegradable petroleum-based polymers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene. Once discarded, these non-biodegradable plastics have low density, take up large volume in landfills, and are implicated in environmental pollution. With about one-fifth of landfill volume occupied by waste plastics (Freestone, 1999), it is imperative to develop biodegradable plastics that can replace existing petroleum-based plastics in disposable product applications.
