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Tuning mechanical, thermal, morphological, barrier, and biodegradation properties of edible pectin-alginate/orange peel biocomposite films
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Researchers developed biocomposite food packaging films combining pectin and alginate with orange peel extract, testing their mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties. The biodegradable films showed tunable properties depending on formulation and degraded naturally, unlike conventional plastic packaging. Replacing petroleum-based food packaging with such materials could help reduce microplastic contamination from packaging waste.
Abstract Plastic and organic waste pollution create serious consequences on the environment and the welfare of living organisms. More sustainable solutions should be pursued and applied as fast as possible to prevent further worsening of this global problem. The problem of packaging waste, the major part of the plastic pollution, could be solved using biodegradable plastics where mechanical recycling is not possible, such as in case of food-contaminated packages. However, biodegradable plastics made from bio-based materials are typically low in strength, exhibit poor thermal and barrier properties, and are high in cost. In this study, we propose to produce fully biodegradable, edible, pectin-alginate biocomposite films prepared with a food residue, orange peel powder (OPP), which is an abundant and inexpensive natural resource. The mechanical, thermal, and morphological biocomposite films were characterized by using Universal Testing Machine, Differential Scanning Calorimeter, Thermogravimetric Analyzer and Scanning Electron Microscope. Biodegradability was measured by using soil burial method and water vapor permeability test was performed according to the ASTM E96 standard. These properties were tuned by changing the type, amount of the components and the size of OPP in the film formulation in a systematic manner. The biocomposite films containing 2% CaCl2, 0.7 g/g glycerol, and 30% fine OPP as a filler displayed mechanical properties comparable to those of commercially available packaging films while also exhibiting biodegradability and rather high thermal stability. The biocomposite films, prepared only from natural, edible, and vegan materials, offer promising environmentally friendly alternatives to non-biodegradable petroleum-based plastics to produce fully biodegradable packaging films with tuned properties according to food packaging requirements. While the valorization of OPP improved the properties of the biocomposite edible films, it also proposes a sustainable solution to the organic waste problem.
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