Replacing all petroleum-based chemical products with natural biomass-based chemical products: a tutorial review

Abstract

Immediate action is necessary to alleviate the severe environmental problems such as climate change, deforestation, and plastic pollution. One of the reasons for global warming is the emission of carbon dioxide (CO₂), which has significantly increased due to the burning and consumption of petroleum fossil fuel by humans to produce chemical products and fuels in modern society. In this regard, natural biomass- or plant-derived chemical products and fuels can be considered as carbon neutral because plants absorb CO₂ during their growth. In addition, the use of biomass biodegradable chemical products such as biodegradable plastic can also mitigate the plastic pollution problem. Nowadays, living organisms and the environment are not only contaminated by micro-plastics but also nano-plastic in the air. Thus, herein, some studies and products (biomass biodegradable plastic, coatings, paints, plasticizers, lubricants, etc.) are presented, aiming to replace all the petroleum-derived chemical products and fuels with natural biomass-derived products based on the concept of “no more petroleum, no more fossil fuels”.