Sustainable Bioplastics for Food Packaging Produced from Renewable Natural Sources

Polymers (Basel). 2023 Sep 14;15(18):3760. doi: 10.3390/polym15183760.

Abstract

It is crucial to find an effective, environmentally acceptable solution, such as bioplastics or biodegradable plastics, to the world's rising plastics demand and the resulting ecological destruction. This study has focused on the environmentally friendly production of bioplastic samples derived from corn starch, rice starch, and tapioca starch, with various calcium carbonate filler concentrations as binders. Two different plasticizers, glycerol and sorbitol, were employed singly and in a rich blend. To test the differences in the physical and chemical properties (water content, absorption of moisture, water solubility, dissolution rate in alcohol, biodegradation in soil, tensile strength, elastic modulus, and FT-IR) of the produced samples, nine samples from each of the three types of bioplastics were produced using various ratios and blends of the fillers and plasticizers. The produced bioplastic samples have a multitude of features that make them appropriate for a variety of applications. The test results show that the starch-based bioplastics that have been suggested would be a better alternative material to be used in the packaging sectors.

Keywords: bioplastics; fillers; packaging; starch.

Grants and funding

This publication is developed with the support of Project BG05M2OP001-1.001-0004 UNITe, funded by the Operational Programme “Science and Education for Smart Growth”, co-funded by the European Union through the European Structural and Investment Funds.