Handbook of Sustainable Polymers Processing and Applications

Abstract

Sustainability deals with design and management procedures that, coinciding with natural processes, minimizes waste production and safeguards the natural systems. Consequently, the sustainable business meets the needs of the present world, without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. Air and water pollution released from industrial, agricultural, and household wastes, in fact, has contaminated our environment to such an extent that it definitely requires a rescue plan to save our planet. Thus, the design of eco-friendly chemical/products needs to be informed by the findings of environmental
chemistry. Products should be designed so that at the end of their function they do not persist in the environment and break down into innocuous degradation compounds. The bio-accumulation of toxicants is the reason why the World Health Organization states that 2.4 million people die each year from causes directly attributable to air pollution, with 1.5 million of these deaths attributable to indoor air pollution. At this purpose, synthetic polymers have been used in great quantity for the past decades for a number of applications, becoming an important commodity to enhance comfort and quality of life.