Starch-based biodegradable plastics: methods of production, challenges and future perspectives

Although packaging based on starch is already being commercialized, its properties still have some disadvantages concerning conventional plastics, such as poor barrier (vapor and oxygen) and mechanical properties. Improving them is a great challenge, to know its processability and commercialization better. Currently, there is one intense quest for developing starch-based biodegradable plastics at lab scale. There are also incentives for using biodegradable packaging among government policies, sustainability actions by industries, and changes in consumer behavior. We here discuss the methods of production of starch-based biodegradable plastics, the barriers to large production, and future perspectives. Our current opinion is that much research funding is needed to overcome the challenges to a large production of these materials.