Sustainable barrier paper coating based on alpha-1,3 glucan and natural rubber latex

Azin Adibi; David Valdesueiro; Jorge Mok; Natnael Behabtu; Christian Lenges; Leonardo Simon; Tizazu H Mekonnen

doi:10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119121

Sustainable barrier paper coating based on alpha-1,3 glucan and natural rubber latex

Carbohydr Polym. 2022 Apr 15:282:119121. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119121. Epub 2022 Jan 10.

Authors

Azin Adibi¹, David Valdesueiro², Jorge Mok², Natnael Behabtu², Christian Lenges², Leonardo Simon¹, Tizazu H Mekonnen³

Affiliations

¹ University of Waterloo, Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Polymer Research, Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Ontario, Canada.
² International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. (IFF), 200 Powder Mill Road E353, Wilmington, DE, USA.
³ University of Waterloo, Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Polymer Research, Waterloo Institute of Nanotechnology, Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: tmekonnen@uwaterloo.ca.

PMID: 35123760
DOI: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2022.119121

Abstract

There is an increasing interest in utilizing more sustainable and inherently biodegradable materials alternatives ideally derived from renewable resources for modern material applications, especially in the area of packaging materials. This work employed the polysaccharide alpha-1,3-glucan derived from an enzymatic polymerization process as a functional additive for natural rubber (NR) latex-based coating films. Coating formulations containing NR and 9-50 wt% alpha-1,3 glucan were prepared and then applied to paper substrates at different thicknesses. The effect of coating formulations on the barrier properties (e.g., oxygen, oil, water vapor barrier), the viscosity, and dry and wet tensile properties were investigated. The NR/glucan coatings exhibited outstanding tensile properties and balanced oxygen and oil barrier performance. However, higher glucan loading could be detrimental to moisture barrier. Overall, this study indicated that the NR/glucan coating films are comparable in performance to commercial coating formulations while providing a renewable, potential to be recycled with paper, and biodegradable alternative.

Keywords: Barrier properties; Engineered polysaccharides; Natural rubber; Paper coating.