Biodegradable Polymers Concepts and Applications

Basic concepts on biodegradable biopolymer science are presented in this book, as well as techniques, analyses, standards, and essential criteria for the characterization of biodegradable materials obtained from biopolymers. The development and innovation of products and processes considering the environment are highlighted in this book. All of the applications described have been discussed from the point of view of sustainability. Additionally, this book highlights that biodegradability is a great burden when trying to replace, modify, and/or design existing products, and processes that are highly polluting. Finally, the present book concludes with reflections on the development of biopolymers in different areas, and some of their consequences depending on their biodegradability.

Biodegradation of Polymers. Use of Renewable Source in Biodegradable Polymer. Plastics Technology. Analysis and Testing of Biopolymers. Structure and Morphology of Biodegradable Polymers. Rheology Properties of Biodegradable Polymers. Structural Analysis of Polymers and Composite Materials. Films. Composites and Novel Applications in the Biomedical Field. Green Materials in the Packaging: Biodegradable Foams. Biodegradable Foams: Processes and Applications. Thermo-Shrinkable Biodegradable Polymers. Applications of Biodegradable Polymers in Food Industry. Health Applications of Biodegradable Polymers. Natural Polymers: Applications in the Health Field. Bioplastics: Challenges and Opportunities. Tendencies and Applications in Biodegradable Polymers. Tendencies in Development of Biodegradable Polymers. Assessment of Biodegradability in Polymers: Mechanisms and Analytical Methods. Biodegradable Packaging: Colombian Coffee Industry. Agriculture Applications of Biodegradable Polymers. Insight on Polymeric Hydrogel Networks: A Sustainable Tool for the Isolation of Enzymes and Bioremediation.

Margarita del Rosario Salazar Sánchez is BSc. in Biology in 2008 from the University of Cauca, Colombia, and MSc. in Continental Hydrobiological Resources in 2013 and PhD in Agrarian and Agroindustrial Sciences at the University of Cauca, Colombia in 2019. Her topics of interest as a professor and researcher include ecotoxicity, polymer biodegradation, ecology, food biotechnology, bioprocesses and food preservation and processing; topics in which several articles have been published in peer-reviewed journals. She is currently a researcher and professor at the Universidad Popular del Cesar, Colombia.

José Fernando Solanilla Duque is BSc. Eng. in Agroindustrial Engineering in 1996 from the Universidad Gran Colombia, Colombia, and his PhD in Colloids and Interface Science and Technology from the Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Spain), in 2009. He has been a professor since February 1995 at the Universidad del Quindío, Universidad del Tolima and currently at the Universidad del Cauca. His topics of interest as a teacher and researcher include food biotechnology, interfacial properties of biopolymers, bioprocesses and food preservation, where he has published several articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Aidé Sáenz Galindo: Research Professor at the Autonomous University of Coahuila, Saltillo, Coahuila Mexico. Degree in Chemical Sciences with a PhD in Polymers from the Centro de Investigación en Química. D. in Polymers from the Centro de Investigación en Química and a post doctorate in the Department of Advanced Materials at the Centro de Investigación en Química. The research line of work is related to developing synthetic and natural polymeric composites and nano-materials, specializing in the surface modification of carbon-based nanostructures. Lecturer at the undergraduate level of subjects related to Organic Chemistry, in the educational programs of Chemist, QFB and Eng. Chemistry, a member of the Basic Academic Nucleus of the Postgradua