ABSTRACT
In recent years, the need to develop more environmentally friendly materials is increasing due to severe environmental problems led by petroleum-based polymers. The hydrophobic and non-biodegradable characteristics of petroleum-based polymers have made the synthetic material resistant to natural degradation processes. Therefore, biodegradable polymers developed from natural resources are excellent alternatives for resolving this issue. Among biopolymers, starch is considered to be the most promising resource due to its abundance, low cost, global availability, renewability, easily soluble in water, and highly biodegradable in soil. Starch has unique properties where it can be transformed into thermoplastics when subjected to high temperature, shear, and with the presence of plasticizers. The thermoplastic behavior of starch has made this material ready for various processing methods and available for conventional thermoplastics. However, neat thermoplastic starch has several limitations which reduce its potential application in the plastic industry such as poor mechanical properties, high water absorption rate, and poor thermal resistance. Hence, this chapter discusses the development of thermoplastic starch from various resources as well as the several approaches that have been used to enhance its properties.
Keywords
Starch; Thermoplastic Starch; Biopolymer; Natural Fiber Composites.
