Components With Materials Of Biological Origin
Introduction
biotic material or material of biological origin is any material that originates from living organisms. Most of these materials contain carbon and can decompose.
The oldest life on Earth emerged at least 3.5 billion years ago.[1][2][3] Evidence for early physical life includes graphite, a biogenic substance, in 3.7 billion-year-old metasedimentites discovered in southwest Greenland,[4] as well as, "remnants of biotic life" found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Australia Western.[5][6] Earth's biodiversity has continually expanded, except when interrupted by mass extinctions.[7] Although scholars estimate that more than 99 percent of all species of life (more than five billion)[8] that ever lived on Earth are extinct,[9][10] there are still an estimated 10-14 million extant species,[11][12] of which around 1.2 million have been documented and more than 86% have not yet been described.[13].
Examples of biotic materials are wood, straw, humus, dung, bark, crude oil, cotton, spider silk, chitin, fibrin, and bone.
The use of biotic materials and processed biotic materials (bio-based material) as alternative natural materials, over synthetics, is popular among those who are environmentally conscious because such materials are typically biodegradable, renewable, and the processing is commonly understood and has minimal environmental impact. However, not all biotic materials are used in an environmentally friendly way, such as those that require high levels of processing, are unsustainably harvested, or are used to produce carbon emissions.
When the source of the newly living material is of little importance to the product produced, as in biofuel production, the biotic material is simply called biomass "Biomass (energy)"). Many fuel sources can have biological sources and can be roughly divided into fossil fuels and biofuels.
In soil science, biotic material is often called organic matter. Biotic materials in soil include glomalin, dopplerite, and humic acid. Some biotic material may not be considered organic matter if it is low in organic compounds, such as a clam shell, which is an essential component of the living organism but contains little organic carbon.
Examples of the use of biotic materials include:.