“Bio” is a Greek word that means “life.” Bio-based materials, therefore, refer to products that consist mainly of a substance, or substances, derived from living mat­ter (biomass) and either occurs naturally or is synthesized. The term “bio-based materials” should not be confused with “biomaterials,” which has another meaning and relates to biocompatible materials used in and adapted to medical applications, which include implantable medical devices, tissue engineering, and drug delivery systems.34

The range of bio-based materials, from natural fibers to biopolymers, is mak­ing significant advances in petroleum-based materials industries.35 Renewable resource-based chemicals and bio-based polymers, such as 1,3-propanediol, soy, polyol, polylactic acids, and so on, are gaining momentum in commercialization as supplements and possible replacements for petroleum based products. For decades, cellulosic polymers have played a key role in a wide range of applications, such as apparel, food, and varnishes. Since the 1980s, an increasing number of starch polymers have been introduced, which have made them one of the most important groups of commercially available bio-based materials.

Bio-based materials, are commonly thought to be greener alternatives than their petroleum-based counterparts, which are nonbiodegradable, have potentially devastating effects on animal and ocean life, and for the most part, have an inher­ently toxic life cycle from their production through their final disposal. Bio-based materials frequently are labeled as produced from “renewable” resources, although this term is used loosely because biomass production requires nonrenewable inputs, which include fossil fuels, and ties up other finite resources such as land and wa­ter. The claim that bio-based materials are friendlier to the environment than their petroleum-based counterparts is being scrutinized closely.3639