Bionanocomposites

Commonly used polymeric materials, many of which are derived from petroleum, pose problems after their intended life-span. The fast-paced consumption of petroleum (roughly 100 000 times faster than nature can replenish) and the general disposal possibilities, incineration and land filling contribute to the unsustainability of the current situation [1] and imply future problems in supplying advanced materials. This fact has created the urgent need for replacing petroleum-based polymers by renewable and biodegradable ones. As a result, there has been a growing effort to develop new biodegradable materials from environment-friendly, biodegradable, and renewable resources whose feasibility in suiting their properties to a particular application can result in easily tailored materials such as bionanocomposites.