Chapter 21: Fully Biodegradable Cellulose Nanoparticle-based Advanced Materials

Cellulose nanoparticle (CNP)-based advanced materials have been described as green polymer materials that fulfil the requirement of being highly sustainable, eco-friendly, renewable, cost-effective and energy-saving. They are finding applications in increasing numbers of areas. These wide applications of biocomposites prepared using CNPs have been made possible because of improvements in their surface properties made possible by the various chemical functionalizations reported by researchers. Understanding of the biodegradation mechanism of cellulose nanoparticle-based materials can help researchers to develop or design materials with specific properties for particular applications in packaging, biomaterials, and other areas. Also, this knowledge can help scientists to determine the rate of recovery of the environment from the huge waste been generated from biopolymer composites. This chapter is hence dedicated to the understanding of different biodegradation mechanisms, kinetics and factors which affect the process of degradation.