ABSTRACT
Biofiber-reinforced biopolymer composites have been promoted for some time as a panacea to the long-standing issue of nonbiodegradability and the resulting environmental pollution of synthetic fiber reinforced petroleum-derived polymer composites. Development of these materials has been spurred on by the interest shown by the global community, often supported by the governments of developed countries, to replace polluting materials with the ones that are greener, more sustainable, and environment friendly. The dwindling resources of petroleum throughout the world and the ever-decreasing landfill sites for garbage are the other major stimuli for this paradigm shift. The production of materials from biobased feedstocks is expected to increase to 18% in 2020 and 25% in 2030 [1]. It is expected that two-thirds of the $1.5 trillion global chemical industry can eventually be based on
renewable resources. The US Department of Energy (DOE) aims to achieve 10% of basic chemical building blocks arising from plant derived renewable sources by 2020, with development concepts in place by then to achieve a further increase to 50% by 2050 [1]. Similarly, the US agricultural, forestry, life sciences, and chemical communities have developed a strategic vision for using crops, trees, and residues to manufacture industrial products, and have identified major barriers to its implementation.
