Biofoams: Science and Applications of Bio-based Cellular and Porous Materials

Addresses a Growing Need for the Development of Cellular and Porous Materials in Industry

Building blocks used by nature are motivating researchers to create bio-inspired cellular structures that can be used in the development of products for the plastic, food, and biomedical industry. Representing a unified effort by international experts, Biofoams: Science and Applications of Bio-Based Cellular and Porous Materials highlights the latest research and development of biofoams and porous systems, and specifically examines the aspects related to the formation of gas bubbles in drink and food. The book offers a detailed analysis of bio-polymers and foaming technologies, biodegradable and sustainable foams, biomedical foams, food foams, and bio-inspired foams.

Explores the Generation of New Materials with Wide-Ranging Technological Applicability

This book introduces the science, technologies, and applications related to the use of biopolymers and biomaterials in the development of porous structures. It presents topics that include bio-based polymers for the development of biodegradable and sustainable polymeric foams, foams in food, foams in biomedical applications, biohybrids, and bio-inspired cellular and porous systems. It also includes recent studies on the design of polymer-based composites and hybrid scaffolds, weighs in on the challenges related to the production of porous polymers, and presents relevant examples of cellular architecture present in nature.

In addition, this book:

• Focuses on materials compatible with natural tissues
• Discusses the engineering of bio-inspired scaffolds with the ability to mimic living tissue
• Reveals how to use renewable resources to develop more sustainable lightweight materials
• Illustrates the state of the art of porous scaffold and process techniques

A book dedicated to material science, Biofoams: Science and Applications of Bio-Based Cellular and Porous Materials focuses on food technology, polymers and composites, biomedical, and chemical engineering, and examines how the principles used in the creation of cellular structures can be applied in modern industry.

Salvatore Iannace graduated in chemical engineering (1988) and received his Ph.D (1994) from the University of Naples "Federico II," Napoli, Italy. He is the director of the Institute for Macromolecular Studies of the National Research Council of Italy. His principal research interests lie in the fields of biodegradable and sustainable multicomponent and multi-scale foams with designed structural and functional properties. He has published numerous articles and conference papers, 18 book chapters, and four patents. Iannace is also a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Cellular Plastics.

Chul B. Park received his Ph.D from MIT in 1993. He holds the Canada Research Chair in Microcellular Plastics at the University of Toronto, and is the founder of the Microcellular Plastics Manufacturing Laboratory and the Centre for Industrial Application of Microcellular Plastics. Dr. Park is a fellow of three academies: the Royal Society of Canada, Canadian Academy of Engineering, and Korean Academy of Science and Technology. He is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Institute of Canada, and the Society of Plastics Engineers.