The global biopolymers market is expected to reach USD 7,196.8 million by 2024, witnessing a CAGR of 15.2% from 2018 to 2024. Growing environmental concerns across the globe have increased awareness towards the need for eco-friendly products. Additionally, fluctuation in the prices of crude oil resulting in limited resource availability for conventional polymers is expected to fuel the market growth over the forecast period.
Biopolymers may be defined as the polymers that are developed from living beings and contain monomeric units, covalently bonded, to form large structures. These can be naturally derived from plant proteins, biomass, starch and other renewable feed stock, that are easy to decompose in the environment. A few examples of biopolymers are carbohydrates, DNA, RNA, proteins, glycogen, cellulose, among others.
Majority of the plastic that is used worldwide are petroleum based and are non-biodegradable. Conventional polymers are likely to pose a threat to the environment since it gets accumulated resulting in numerous health hazards. In order to combat the hazardous impact of conventional polymers and reduce the carbon footprint, biopolymers have emerged as sustainable alternatives. Further, the easy availability of feedstock for biopolymers has increasingly replaced conventional polymers.
