ALGAL BIOPLASTIC A SOLUTION FOR PLASTIC POLLUTION

The ascent of plastic production was a twentieth century phenomenon on a historical scale. The low cost of plastics and its skillfulness have paved a way for a wide range of applications. As the plastics are non-biodegradable and found to have nephrotoxic effects on human, animals and also the environment, the bioplastic came into existence. Bioplastics are perishable and can be derived from renewable biological sources. Algae function glorious feedstock for plastic production owing to its several advantages like high yield and also the ability to grow during a variety of environments. The polysaccharides from the algae are used for the bioplastic production. Seaweeds are best well known for the natural polysaccharides that may be extracted from them which are widely used, particularly in the fields of food technology, biotechnology, biological science and even drugs but not yet in the plastic industry. Since they are renewable biomass resources and are polymers made up of sugars that contain carbon, they may be used to create perishable and prime quality bioplastic. The major structural polysaccharides are alginate can be found, in the cell wall of seaweed. This used to produce a bioplastic
film, which is biodegradable in nature. As for plastic products, algae is a source of valuable raw materials due to their polymers. Algae bioplastic mainly evolved as a byproduct of algae biofuel production.