Biopolymers as packaging material in food and allied industry

Abstract

For last 50 years plastics are widely used for manufacturing of packaging materials because of their performance and ease in production. With the advent of food processing industries there is a great demand for petroleum based packaging materials for food applications. However increased use of plastics has created serious ecological problems to the environment because of their resistance to biodegradation. Biopolymers can be used as a solution to the problems posed by plastics as they easily degrade in the environment and also mimic the properties of conventional polymers. Biopolymers are polymers extracted from biomass, synthesized from bio-derived monomers and produced from microorganisms. There are different film formation methods for biopolymers like solution casting method, melt mix method, electro spinning method, thermo pressing and casting, extrusion blown film method. This review highlights the different kinds of biodegradable polymers, their characteristics with special emphasis on their market potential for food packaging applications.