Exploring the Potential of Bio-plasticizers: Functions, Advantages, and Challenges in Polymer Science

Plasticizers are core components utilized in plastics processing. They are additives applied to improve and, in some cases, make possible the processing of a polymer. Thus, plasticizers have an impact on lowering production costs, improving productivity, and other properties of the polymer. Yet, there are issues related to the toxicity of phthalic-based components used in traditional plasticizers. One of the emerging alternatives consists of using raw materials from bio-renewable sources that have low toxicity, are more readily available, and are mostly biodegradable. Such starting raw materials can be used for the synthesis of bio-plasticizers which can serve as a feasible alternative to traditional ones. The large number of raw materials from renewable sources along with their chemical versatility offers a broad variety of reactions that can be performed to obtain various bio-plasticizers that can present efficiencies that are comparable to or even surpass those of petrochemical-based ones. Following that, this review is divided into five parts. First, the introduction provides the main concepts, importance, and progress of the development of bio-plasticizers. The second part covers the main types of plasticizers, compounds utilized, and commercially available bio-plasticizers. The third part discusses the mechanism involved with plasticization and how that process can be improved based on the plasticizer’s chemical structure. The fourth part covers the main advantages of bio-plasticizers and the benefits they can offer for manufacturing. Lastly, the future perspectives and challenges within the field are discussed. Through that, this review provides detailed discussions covering the main aspects related to bio-plasticizers to facilitate the readers’ understanding of the main concepts while also providing a vast number of reports from the recent literature to aid them in the generation of novel ideas. In this way, readers can potentially have novel insights to tackle the main current challenges related to the use of plasticizers in polymers.