ABSTRACT
New material development has experienced fast growth in the past two decades, thanks to public concern over the environment, climate change, and the depletion of fossil fuels. Biopolymers (e.g., starch, cellulose, chitin, protein) represent an important alternative to petroleum-based polymers with well-known attributes such as biodegradability, renewability, and low cost. Although starchbased biodegradable materials have exhibited the desirable features of environmental friendliness and sustainability, their functional performance has disappointingly lagged behind. To improve the
CONTENTS
15.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 301 15.2 Starch/Natural Polymer Blends ............................................................................................302
