Natural biopolymers have garnered significant attention in recent years due to their unique properties and potential to mitigate environmental concerns associated with synthetic polymers. These materials exhibit advantageous characteristics such as flexibility, renewability, biocompatibility, and biodegradability, enabling applications across medical, pharmaceutical, food packaging, and beverage industries. Despite the rapidly expanding body of literature, many existing reviews remain largely descriptive and lack critical integration of material properties, microbial production routes, application-driven performance, and market feasibility. This critical review systematically evaluates recent scientific developments, industrial applications, and global market trends of natural biopolymers. A comprehensive literature survey covering publications from 2000 to 2025, with emphasis on advances reported between 2017 and 2025, was conducted. The review encompasses major classes of natural biopolymers, including polysaccharides, polyamides, polyesters, and polyphosphates, focusing on structure–property relationships, production constraints, and application-specific limitations. To provide quantitative and evidence-based insights, this review integrates a meta-analysis of tensile strength data for polylactic acid (PLA) spanning reports from 2010 to 2025, alongside statistical market projections derived from modelling approaches. By linking microbial and bio-based production strategies with material performance and commercialization challenges, this article identifies knowledge gaps, technological bottlenecks, and future research directions necessary for broader industrial adoption of natural biopolymers.
Superhydrophobic polysulfone (PSf) hollow fiber membranes were fabricated and surface-modified with fluorinated SiO2 nanoparticles for CO2 absorption in gas-liquid membrane contactors. Fluorinated SiO2 nanoparticles were synthesized using 1 H,1 H,2 H,2 H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (PFDTES) and coated onto PSf hollow fibers at concentrations of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt%. The effects of coating concentration on membrane morphology, hydrophobicity, wetting resistance, gas permeation, and CO2 absorption performance were systematically investigated. Surface characterization confirmed successful deposition of fluorinated SiO2 nanoparticles, resulting in an increase in surface roughness from 18 to 35 nm. The coating significantly improved membrane hydrophobicity, increasing the water contact angle from 82 to 149 degrees, while the critical entry pressure of water increased from 5.0 to 9.5 bar. CO2 absorption experiments were conducted using distilled water and 1 M NaOH as physical and reactive absorbents, respectively. For all membranes, CO2 flux increased with absorbent flow rate due to reduced liquid-phase mass transfer resistance. The membrane coated with 1 wt% fluorinated SiO2 (M1) exhibited the best overall performance, achieving maximum CO2 fluxes of 1.61 & times; 10(-)& sup3; mol m(-)& sup2; s(-)& sup1; with 1 M NaOH and 7.33 & times; 10(-)(4) mol m(-)& sup2; s(-)& sup1; with distilled water at 300 mL/min. Wilson plot analysis revealed that the optimized membrane reduced overall mass-transfer resistance by approximately 30% compared with the pristine membrane. These results demonstrate that moderate fluorinated SiO2 coating effectively enhances membrane anti-wetting properties and CO2 absorption performance, making the optimized membrane a promising candidate for carbon capture applications.
Hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR) is widely used in oilfield sealing applications due to its excellent oil resistance and mechanical properties, yet its long-term performance at elevated temperatures remains a challenge. In this study, HNBR composites reinforced with zinc methacrylate (ZDMA) and silica (SiO2) were prepared, and the interfacial properties were tailored using two silane coupling agents, Si69 and A171, respectively. The influence of the ZDMA/SiO2 ratio on curing characteristics, crosslink density, mechanical properties, thermal aging resistance, dynamic viscoelastic behavior, and thermal stability was systematically investigated. The results demonstrate that Si69, through the participation of its polysulfide bonds in covalent crosslinking during vulcanization, markedly enhances interfacial adhesion, promotes filler dispersion, and suppresses the Payne effect more effectively than A171. Meanwhile, the synergistic interaction between ZDMA and SiO2 facilitates the formation of a covalent/ionic interpenetrating crosslinked network, which contributes to efficient reinforcement and stabilization of the HNBR matrix at high temperatures. At an optimal ZDMA/SiO2 ratio of 30/30 with Si69 as the coupling agent, the composite achieves a tensile strength of 29.6 MPa and maintains 29.8 MPa after thermal aging at 150 °C for 72 h, along with excellent dynamic mechanical performance and improved thermal stability. Moreover, this formulation offers a favorable cost-performance balance with moderate filler loadings, making it a promising candidate for high-temperature sealing applications in the oilfield sector. Overall, this work provides mechanistic insights into interface engineering and practical formulation guidance for the design of high-performance, thermally stable HNBR composites.
Driven by climate urgency and fossil depletion, transitioning to sustainable carbon sources like biomass is crucial for replacing petrochemical feedstocks. Consequently, the catalytic conversion of bio-derived carbohydrates into platform chemicals offers a key route to a circular bioeconomy. The selective dehydration of carbohydrates into 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) is a cornerstone of biomass valorization, requiring stable, high-performance catalysts derived from renewable resources. This study reports the development of a novel hybrid catalyst (CS/CR-S) synthesized through the synergistic integration of two marine biopolymers: chitosan and carrageenan. The hybrid material leverages complementary biopolymer properties: chitosan forms a robust, nitrogen-rich scaffold enabling amine-mediated cross-linking and basicity, with hydroxyl groups available for sulfonation; carrageenan provides a sulfate-rich framework with inherent sulfonates and further sulfonatable hydroxyls, enhancing acidity and porosity. Their synergy effectively promotes hydrolysis, isomerization, and dehydration reactions. Optimization via Response Surface Methodology (RSM) identified 110 °C, 90 min, and 30 wt
In order to create an optimized moxifloxacin (MOXN)-loaded hydrocolloid wound dressing (HWD) exhibiting optimal mechanical features and rapid wound healing, several MOXN-loaded HWDs were fabricated with selected constituents using the hot melting-casting method. The effects of polyisobutylene (PIBT), styrene-isoprene-styrene copolymer (SISC), petroleum hydrocarbon resin (PHCR), and sodium alginate (SLG) on the mechanical attributes of MOXN-loaded HWDs were examined. The functional contributions of sodium starch glycolate (SSGL) to the swelling ratio, stress-strain behaviours, and drug release from the refined HWD were investigated. In addition, an in vivo tissue repair potential of the optimally designed MOXN-loaded HWD was explored in comparison with the control groups using infected-excision wound model. PIBT and SISC did not contribute significantly to the mechanical characteristics; however, PHCR enhanced the tensile strength (TnS) and elongation-at-break (EtB) measurements. A 3
