Acylation of agricultural protein biomass yields biodegradable superabsorbent plastics

Antonio J Capezza; Faraz Muneer; Thomas Prade; William R Newson; Oisik Das; Malin Lundman; Richard T Olsson; Mikael S Hedenqvist; Eva Johansson

doi:10.1038/s42004-021-00491-5

Acylation of agricultural protein biomass yields biodegradable superabsorbent plastics

Commun Chem. 2021 Apr 13;4(1):52. doi: 10.1038/s42004-021-00491-5.

Authors

Antonio J Capezza^{1

2}, Faraz Muneer³, Thomas Prade⁴, William R Newson³, Oisik Das⁵, Malin Lundman⁶, Richard T Olsson⁷, Mikael S Hedenqvist⁷, Eva Johansson⁸

Affiliations

¹ Fibre and Polymer Technology Department, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. ajcv@kth.se.
² Plant Breeding Department, SLU Alnarp, Lomma, Sweden. ajcv@kth.se.
³ Plant Breeding Department, SLU Alnarp, Lomma, Sweden.
⁴ Biosystems and Technology Department, SLU Alnarp, Lomma, Sweden.
⁵ Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Structural and Fire Engineering Division, Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden.
⁶ Essity Hygiene and Health AB, Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁷ Fibre and Polymer Technology Department, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.
⁸ Plant Breeding Department, SLU Alnarp, Lomma, Sweden. eva.johansson@slu.se.

Abstract

Superabsorbent polymers (SAP) are a central component of hygiene and medical products requiring high liquid swelling, but these SAP are commonly derived from petroleum resources. Here, we show that sustainable and biodegradable SAP can be produced by acylation of the agricultural potato protein side-stream (PPC) with a non-toxic dianhydride (EDTAD). Treatment of the PPC yields a material with a water swelling capacity of ca. 2400%, which is ten times greater than the untreated PPC. Acylation was also performed on waste potato fruit juice (PFJ), i.e. before the industrial treatment to precipitate the PPC. The use of PFJ for the acylation implies a saving of 320 000 tons as CO₂ in greenhouse gas emissions per year by avoiding the industrial drying of the PFJ to obtain the PPC. The acylated PPC shows biodegradation and resistance to mould growth. The possibilities to produce a biodegradable SAP from the PPC allows for future fabrication of environment-friendly and disposable daily-care products, e.g. diapers and sanitary pads.

Abstract

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