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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Upcycling the Banana Industry in Ecuador: A Methodology to Estimate Organic Waste Availability and a Catalogue of Potential Biodegradable Products
ClearRecent Advance in Biodegradable Packaging from Banana Plant Feedstock: A Comprehensive Review
This review synthesizes recent advances in biodegradable packaging derived from banana plant waste, examining how banana-derived biopolymers can be transformed into eco-friendly packaging solutions for the food industry. Researchers found that banana waste offers versatile biopolymer sources enabling flexible packaging designs with lower environmental impact than fossil fuel-derived materials, though challenges in scalability and economic feasibility remain barriers to widespread adoption.
Potential Uses of Musaceae Wastes: Case of Application in the Development of Bio-Based Composites
This review examines the potential of banana plant (Musaceae) waste to produce biodegradable composite materials that could replace petroleum-based plastics in packaging and other applications. Replacing fossil-fuel-derived plastics with plant-based alternatives could reduce long-term microplastic accumulation in the environment.
Development and Characterization of Starch Based Bioplatics Using Banana Peels
This study developed bioplastic films from banana peel starch as a biodegradable alternative to conventional petroleum-based packaging plastics. Food waste-based bioplastics offer a sustainable approach to reducing the accumulation of persistent microplastics in the environment.
Exploring banana peels as a renewable source for bioplastic development
Despite its title referencing bioplastics, this paper studies the development of biodegradable films made from banana peel waste and corn starch — not microplastic pollution. It examines mechanical properties and biodegradability of these food-packaging alternatives, and while reducing conventional plastic use is relevant to microplastic prevention, the paper itself does not study microplastics.
Cellulose-Based Biopolymers from Banana Pseudostem Waste: Innovations for Sustainable Bioplastics
This review explores how cellulose extracted from banana pseudostem waste can be used to create biodegradable bioplastics as an alternative to petroleum-based packaging. Researchers found that treated banana cellulose showed favorable properties including high crystallinity and thermal stability up to 250 degrees Celsius. Using agricultural waste instead of food crops for bioplastic production could help reduce both plastic pollution and the microplastics that form when conventional plastics break down.
Use Of Organic Fruit Residues To Obtain Bioplastics
Researchers investigated the use of organic fruit waste as a raw material for producing bioplastics, exploring a range of fruit types and processing methods to develop petroleum-free alternatives to conventional single-use plastics. The review aligns bioplastic production from agricultural residues with circular economy principles and growing demand for environmentally friendly packaging solutions.
Development of Biodegradable Films from Carrot, Guava, and Banana Peel Fibers for Environmental Packaging Applications
Despite its classification in this database, this study develops biodegradable packaging films from fruit and vegetable fibers rather than investigating microplastic pollution directly. Films made from 60% guava fiber with 1.8% alginate showed the best mechanical properties and highest soil degradation rate, offering a potential alternative to conventional plastic packaging.
Development of Biodegradable Rigid Foams from Pineapple Field Waste
Not relevant to microplastics — this paper develops biodegradable rigid foam materials from pineapple agricultural waste (starch and cellulose) as a sustainable packaging alternative to petroleum-based plastics.
An overview: exploring the potential of fruit and vegetable waste and by-products in food biodegradable packaging
Researchers reviewed how fruit and vegetable processing waste — rich in polyphenols, vitamins, and fiber — can be transformed into biodegradable food packaging films and coatings, offering an eco-friendly alternative to conventional plastic packaging. Repurposing food waste this way could simultaneously reduce plastic pollution (including microplastics from packaging degradation) and address agricultural waste disposal challenges.
Agro-Food Waste Valorization for Sustainable Bio-Based Packaging
This review examines how waste from food processing can be repurposed into biodegradable packaging materials as an alternative to conventional plastics. Researchers have developed films and coatings from fruit peels, grain husks, and other agricultural byproducts, though most solutions remain at the laboratory stage. Replacing traditional plastic packaging with these bio-based alternatives could help reduce the generation of microplastics that contaminate food and water supplies.
Synthesis and characterization of a biodegradable film from eggshell and green banana starch
Researchers synthesized and characterized a biodegradable film using eggshell and green banana starch as a sustainable alternative to conventional plastics, evaluating its material properties as part of an effort to address plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from plastic production.
Bioeconomía de biopolímeros basados en residuos orgánicos domésticos para la disminución del impacto ambiental generado por residuos plásticos de un solo uso en el Edificio Pasaje Amador de la ciudad de Quito.
This Ecuadorian thesis applied bioeconomy principles to develop biopolymers from domestic organic waste as a substitute for single-use plastics in an urban building. Using locally produced bio-based materials to replace single-use plastics directly addresses the generation of the plastic waste that eventually becomes microplastics.
Juliet Tumusiime’s Cheveux Organique: turning banana waste into hair
Not relevant to microplastics — this business case study examines how Ugandan entrepreneur Juliet Tumusiime developed a hair care brand (Cheveux Organique) using fiber extracted from banana plant waste, addressing agricultural waste disposal while creating an organic cosmetics product.
Fabrication of biodegradable masks from banana leaves by thermal compression method
This paper is not about microplastics; it describes the fabrication of biodegradable face masks from banana leaf cellulose as an environmentally friendly alternative to polypropylene disposable masks.
Biodegradability of pots made from empty fruit clusters of the oil palm (Elaeis guinnensis Jacq.) for agroforestry use in the Ucayali Region, Peru
This study tested whether pots made from oil palm empty fruit bunches — a common agricultural waste — could biodegrade in soil instead of becoming microplastic pollution like conventional plastic nursery bags. Results showed the EFB-based pots broke down significantly under natural soil conditions, with degradation rates varying by environment (open, stored, or reforested soil). This matters because switching from plastic nursery bags to biodegradable alternatives could meaningfully reduce agricultural microplastic contamination.
Biodegradable Packaging : a Key to Environmental Sustainability
This paper reviews biodegradable packaging alternatives to conventional plastics, arguing that plant-based materials can reduce microplastic pollution in oceans, soil, and food systems. The authors survey available materials and manufacturing methods as part of a broader case for environmental sustainability.
Investigating the characteristics of carboxymethyl cellulose film as a possible material for green packaging
Researchers developed biodegradable carboxymethyl cellulose films from agricultural waste as a potential sustainable alternative to conventional plastic food packaging. Replacing single-use plastics with biodegradable packaging is directly relevant to reducing the source of microplastic pollution, as conventional packaging is a major contributor to plastic fragmentation in the environment.
Preliminary Techno-Economic Feasibility of Biodegradable Food Packaging from Luffa Acutangula Peel in Indonesia
Researchers conducted a preliminary techno-economic feasibility assessment of biodegradable food packaging made from Luffa acutangula peel as an alternative to conventional plastics, addressing growing concerns about microplastic and nanoplastic contamination from food packaging in Indonesia.
Innovative Packaging Solutions from Agri-food Wastes and By-products
This review examined biodegradable bio-packaging materials derived from agri-food wastes as alternatives to petrochemical plastics, covering their preparation, properties, and use in food industries. While bio-packaging reduces microplastic accumulation and carbon footprint, the authors noted ongoing challenges in mechanical performance and cost.
Sustainable synthesis and characterization of bioplastic films from whole banana peel: a comparative study on plasticizer-hydrolyzer ratios
Researchers synthesized bioplastic films from whole banana peel waste using acetic acid as a hydrolyzer and glycerol as a plasticizer at three different ratios (1:1, 1:2, and 3:8), then characterized the films for physicochemical properties and biodegradability. This approach differs from conventional bioplastics by utilizing the whole peel rather than only extracted starch.
Microplastic contamination in agricultural soils: occurrence, polymer characterization, and ecological risk in banana farmlands of Southwestern India
This study investigated microplastic occurrence and characteristics in agricultural soils from banana farmlands in southwestern India, finding widespread contamination across sampled sites. Fibers and fragments dominated, with agricultural inputs such as irrigation water and mulching identified as key contamination pathways.
On the quest for novel bio-degradable plastics for agricultural field mulching
This review examined the challenge of developing biodegradable plastic mulch materials suitable for agricultural use, noting that plasticulture consumes about 6.7 million tons of plastic annually, most of which cannot be practically recycled. The authors assessed candidate biodegradable polymers based on their degradation rates in soil, mechanical performance, and cost.
The Environmental and Economic Viability of Chitosan Production in Guayas-Ecuador: A Robust Investment and Life Cycle Analysis
Ecuadorian researchers analyzed the environmental and economic feasibility of producing chitosan—a biodegradable biopolymer—from shrimp shell waste. Chitosan has potential applications as a natural plastic alternative and as a flocculant for removing microplastics from water.
Sustainable Management of Organic Waste and Recycling for Bioplastics: A LCA Approach for the Italian Case Study
Researchers used life cycle assessment to evaluate the environmental trade-offs of collecting organic waste for biodegradable plastic production in Italy, finding that the system could reduce fossil resource use but that impacts depended heavily on collection efficiency and the end-of-life pathway chosen.