Preface for special issue on bio-based materials (2016) / 生物工程学报

ABSTRACT

Bio-based materials are new materials or chemicals with renewable biomass as raw materials such as grain, legume, straw, bamboo and wood powder. This class of materials includes bio-based polymer, biobased fiber, glycotechnology products, biobased rubber and plastics produced by biomass thermoplastic processing and basic biobased chemicals, for instance, bio-alcohols, organic acids, alkanes, and alkenes, obtained by bio-synthesis, bio-processing and bio-refinery. Owing to its environmental friendly and resource conservation, bio-based materials are becoming a new dominant industry taking the lead in the world scientific and technological innovation and economic development. An overview of bio-based materials development is reported in this special issue, and the industrial status and research progress of the following aspects, including biobased fiber, polyhydroxyalkanoates, biodegradable mulching film, bio-based polyamide, protein based biomedical materials, bio-based polyurethane, and modification and processing of poly(lactic acid), are introduced.