Bioplastics from Vegetable Waste: A Versatile Platform for the Fabrication of Polymer Films

Simonutti, Roberto; Perotto, Giovanni; Bertolacci, Laura; Athanassiou, Athanassia

doi:10.1021/bk-2020-1373.ch010

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Carrot pomace (CP; 52% cellulose, 43% pectin, and 3% hemicellulose), [ 25 ] received as a dried powder with particle size inferior to 50 µm, was kindly provided by the company Harms Food (Zeven, Germany). Orange peel (OP; 39% cellulose, 31% pectin, and 26% hemicellulose) [ 23 ] and lemon peel (LP; 20% cellulose, 40% pectin, and 10% hemicellulose) [ 26 ] were collected after juice extraction of commercial oranges and lemons (Genoa, Italy).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermomechanical Plasticization of Fruits and Vegetables Processing Byproducts for the Preparation of Bioplastics

Merino

Athanassiou

2023

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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Byproducts of the processing of foods are usually non‐edible residues that are typically discarded, even though they contain large amounts of natural polymers with great potential in bioplastics and biocomposites preparation. Herein, a new method of production of vegetable‐waste‐derived biocomposites is developed. It consists of the thermomechanical processing of different residues in the presence of small amounts of water, representing an advancement in the state‐of‐the‐art in the complete conversion of fruit and vegetable biomass into biocomposites. In particular, carrot pomace (CP) is processed by compression molding at different temperatures, pressures, and times. Selected processing conditions are also applied to other food processing byproducts. The morphological, mechanical, barrier, optical, and antioxidant properties of the obtained biocomposites and their interaction with water in terms of moisture content, water solubility, and moisture absorption are reported here. Results indicate that biocomposites obtained by this method present similar properties compared to biocomposites prepared by acid or alkaline hydrolysis of biomass reported in the literature, but still inferior compared to bioplastics currently in the market. Improvements in the materials' interaction with water are highlighted here as the necessary next step to achieving the transition toward greener bioplastics.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermomechanical Plasticization of Fruits and Vegetables Processing Byproducts for the Preparation of Bioplastics

Merino

Athanassiou

2023

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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“…Under this concept, also polymer-based colorimetric pH indicators have been designed by utilizing natural polymeric components. Most of the natural polymers ensure the production of biocompatible and biodegradable materials, two mandatory parameters for food packaging and biomedical applications, while at the same time promote sustainability and circular economy [ 152 , 153 ]. However, the overall physicochemical properties of the natural polymers (e.g., reduced stability in humid environments, low mechanical properties, low gas barrier properties, etc.)…”

Section: Anthocyanin Polymer Composite Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Colorimetric Indicators Based on Anthocyanin Polymer Composites: A Review

et al. 2022

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This review explores the colorimetric indicators based on anthocyanin polymer composites fabricated in the last decade, in order to provide a comprehensive overview of their morphological and compositional characteristics and their efficacy in their various application fields. Notably, the structural properties of the developed materials and the effect on their performance will be thoroughly and critically discussed in order to highlight their important role. Finally, yet importantly, the current challenges and the future perspectives of the use of anthocyanins as components of colorimetric indicator platforms will be highlighted, in order to stimulate the exploration of new anthocyanin sources and the in-depth investigation of all the possibilities that they can offer. This can pave the way for the development of high-end materials and the expansion of their use to new application fields.

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“…To this regard, polysaccharides, abundant in the waste or byproducts of the fruit and vegetable food industry, represent a renewable feedstock of raw materials that can safely biodegrade back into water and the CO 2 that was absorbed by plants for their synthesis. 17 On the other hand, protein biopolymers have good barrier properties, 18 comparable to those of PVC and PET, and can be used in the packaging industry as biodegradable plastics to help solve environmental pollution problems. 19 One example is the use of whey from the dairy industry for bioplastics, whose production process showed promising results to be economically competitive with petrochemical materials such as PP and PE.…”

Section: ■ Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this framework, and taking into consideration the costs associated with the development of bioplastics, the production of biocomposite materials via minimal processing of readily available vegetable-based biomass can represent an appealing option. To this regard, polysaccharides, abundant in the waste or byproducts of the fruit and vegetable food industry, represent a renewable feedstock of raw materials that can safely biodegrade back into water and the CO 2 that was absorbed by plants for their synthesis . On the other hand, protein biopolymers have good barrier properties, comparable to those of PVC and PET, and can be used in the packaging industry as biodegradable plastics to help solve environmental pollution problems .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life Cycle Assessment of a Circular Economy Process for Tray Production via Water-Based Upcycling of Vegetable Waste

Gallo

Arrighi

Moreschi

et al. 2022

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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With one-third of food being wasted at the various steps of the value chain, there is a large amount of biomass constantly being discarded, also wasting the resources consumed for its production. Several strategies have been proposed to use this biomass as a source of raw materials for the production of plastic alternatives, but the environmental impact parameters have rarely been estimated to understand if the proposed process provides an overall benefit. The purpose of this paper is to analyze, through an experimental laboratory campaign, the production process of a vegetable biocomposite material obtained by valorization of biomass from two sources: unsold vegetables from a wholesale market and carrot pomace obtained as a byproduct of juicing. The obtained biocomposite films were thermoformed into trays to replace the traditional plastic food containers made principally with PET. Different scenarios for the lab-scale production of trays were evaluated by testing two water-based processing methods for the two types of biomass used. In order to understand which of the four scenarios was the least impactful, the global warming potential, the cumulative energy demand, and the water scarcity index were used as indicators. Among the different lab-scale processing scenarios for the upscaling of vegetable waste, the least impactful was starting from the unsold/discarded vegetables collected at the wholesale market that were processed via water-based hydrolysis catalyzed by formic acid. Impact parameters were comparable or better than two traditional polymers (PET and HDPE) and two biopolymers (PLA and biopolymer from starch), showing that this process has excellent potential, from an environmental point of view, of substituting plastic packaging.

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Bioplastics from Vegetable Waste: A Versatile Platform for the Fabrication of Polymer Films

Cited by 6 publications

References 26 publications

Thermomechanical Plasticization of Fruits and Vegetables Processing Byproducts for the Preparation of Bioplastics

Thermomechanical Plasticization of Fruits and Vegetables Processing Byproducts for the Preparation of Bioplastics

Colorimetric Indicators Based on Anthocyanin Polymer Composites: A Review

Life Cycle Assessment of a Circular Economy Process for Tray Production via Water-Based Upcycling of Vegetable Waste

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