Bio-based material

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A bio-based material is simply an engineering material made from substances derived from living tissues. These materials are sometimes referred to as biomaterials, but this word also has another meaning. Strictly the definition could include many common materials such as wood and leather, but it typically refers to modern materials that have undergone more extensive processing. Unprocessed materials may be called biotic material.

Bio-based materials are often biodegradable, but this is not always the case.

Examples include:

• polylactic acid - a polymer produced by industrial fermentation
• bioplastics - including a soy oil based plastic now being used to make body panels for John Deere tractors
• engineered wood products such as oriented strand board and particle board
• zein - a natural biopolymer which is the most abundant corn protein
• cornstarch - the starch of the maize grain, used to create based packing pellets