**1. Introduction**

22 Thermoplastic Elastomers

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Stocks of oil in the world are limited and most synthetic plastics can not be degraded by the environment, whereby people are investigating other sources of raw materials aimed at the production of materials less aggressive to the environment, to serve to decrease the amount of plastic waste.

The food industry plays an important role in the use of plastic for protection before, during and after food harvest to ensure the integrity of these (Weber, 2001; De Graff et al, 2003; Tharantahan, 2003, Halley, 2005 ); for example the common consumer products such as plates, cups, spoons, knives, disposable, film or coating films and bags (Wang et al, 2003; De Graff et al, 2003; Averous & Boquillon, 2004; Bastioli, 2001, Garcia et al, 2000, Shogren et al, 2003; Thompson, 2003, Wang et al, 2003).

The plastics produced from fossil sources have contributed significantly to increasing environmental pollution caused by the accumulation of solid waste that can not degrade in landfills, so that has prompted the search for new biodegradable materials not only in the food, but also in the medical, automotive, among others. Renewable natural raw materials become an important alternative, including flour, starch, natural fibers, proteins, and others prominent in developing options for bioplastics (Tharantahan, 2003). Currently there is growing interest to use raw materials and agricultural byproducts in obtaining biodegradable plastics, such as from corn and cassava and potato tubers. However, plastics developed from these sources have certain drawbacks of structural stability compared to conventional plastics, caused by its stiffness or weakness due to its high hygroscopicity and rapid aging (Villada, 2005). Therefore, the research efforts must be maintained and increased in this field, taking into account the use of local products in the region such as cassava, which are being studied in research projects, through which it is intended that the methodology production of biodegradable plastics is reproducible on an industrial scale, taking into account the specific functional requirements for various applications.

This document presents some excerpts related to thermoplastic cassava flour as a raw material useful for packaging applications.
