Bio-based biodegradable film to replace the standard polyethylene cover for silage conservation

Abstract

The research was aimed at studying whether the polyethylene (PE) film currently used to cover maize silage could be replaced with bio-based biodegradable films, and at determining the effects on the fermentative and microbiological quality of the resulting silages in laboratory silo conditions. Biodegradable plastic film made in 2 different formulations, MB1 and MB2, was compared with a conventional 120-μm-thick PE film. A whole maize crop was chopped; ensiled in MB1, MB2, and PE plastic bags, 12.5kg of fresh weight per bag; and opened after 170d of conservation. At silo opening, the microbial and fermentative quality of the silage was analyzed in the uppermost layer (0 to 50mm from the surface) and in the whole mass of the silo. All the silages were well fermented with little differences in fermentative quality between the treatments, although differences in the mold count and aerobic stability were observed in trial 1 for the MB1 silage. These results have shown the possibility of successfully developing a biodegradable cover for silage for up to 6mo after ensiling. The MB2 film allowed a good silage quality to be obtained even in the uppermost part of the silage close to the plastic film up to 170d of conservation, with similar results to those obtained with the PE film. The promising results of this experiment indicate that the development of new degradable materials to cover silage till 6mo after ensiling could be possible.

Evolution of fungal populations in corn silage conserved under polyethylene or biodegradable films

“…). On the other hand, a great deal of attention has been paid to the search for cost‐effective alternatives to replace petroleum‐based commodity plastic films to cover silages, such as biodegradable materials with competitive mechanical properties (Borreani and Tabacco ). Biodegradable (MB) plastic films have proved to work well for conservation periods longer than 5 months in indoor conditions (Borreani and Tabacco ), but they still need to be tested in farm conditions to evaluate their ability to protect silage from the detrimental effects of moulds during conservation.…”

Productivity, milk composition and milk quality of cows fed maize silage covered with oxobiodegradable film

“…In these studies, biodegradable film prevented maize silage from becoming unstable to the same degree as standard coating (Table 2). Similar results were obtained in studies of Borreani et al, 2010. Other experiments (Borreani et al, 2012;Borreani and Tabacco, 2015) showed better stability of maize silage covered with biodegradable film than silage covered with standard film. Denoncourt et al (2006) showed that the temperature of maize silages covered with biodegradable film based on soy protein with different hydrophobic barriers was significantly higher compared to the control silage.…”

“…However, the management of worn-out polyethylene films is a problem. Alarmingly, worn-out silage wrap is going to illegal dumping sites, being buried or burned, while the released components of polymer plastics are a serious environmental threat (Rymarz and Klecan, 2001;Majdiuk, 2002;Rutkowska et al, 2002;Denoncourt et al, 2004aDenoncourt et al, , 2004bŚwiątkowski and Walczak, 2004;Borreani and Tabacco, 2005;Laffin et al, 2005;Denoncourt et al, 2006Denoncourt et al, , 2007Borreani et al, 2014;Borreani and Tabacco, 2015). One alternative to standard coating is biodegradable film produced on the basis of natural origin polymers (chitosan, cellulose, starch, soy or whey protein, and others) or synthetic macromolecular compounds that provide food for microorganisms.…”

Advances in Silage Sealing

“…A study was conducted to determine whether the PE film could be replaced with bio-based biodegradable films [18]. A standard 120-μm-thick white-on-black PE film and two different 120-μm-thick biodegradable plastic films were used to produce the silage bags for that experiment.…”

“…Round bale silage requires at least 5.5 kg of plastic/ton DM. Stack silos use about 1.3 kg of plastic/ton DM, four times less than the round bale silage system [5].A study was conducted to determine whether the PE film could be replaced with bio-based biodegradable films [18]. A standard 120-μm-thick white-on-black PE film and two different 120-μm-thick biodegradable plastic films were used to produce the silage bags for that experiment.…”