Characterization of foams obtained from cassava starch, cellulose fibres and dolomitic limestone by a thermopressing process

Abstract

Cassava starch, dolomitic limestone and eucalypt cellulose fibres were used to prepare foam trays that could be used to pack foodstuffs. The influence of the cellulose fibre concentration in the composite formulation was investigated using 5, 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40% of

Efeito de fibras vegetais nas propriedades de compósitos biodegradáveis de amido de mandioca produzidos via extrusão

“…Observou-se que a densidade das amostras variou entre 0,86 a 0,97 g/cm 3 , tais valores são similares e até menores do que os encontrados por Schmidt & Laurindo (2010), que estudou materiais à base de amido para a produção de embalagens expandidas, obtendo valores de densidade entre 0,63 e 1,3 g/cm 3 , porém maiores que outros, que obtiveram materiais com densidades entre 0,07 a 0,41 g/cm 3 (Carr et al, 2006;Cinelli et al, 2006 A coordenada de cromaticidade a* das amostras apresentou valores que variaram de 1,60 a 12,22 (Tabela 4) e, assim como para a luminosidade, a adição de fibras aumentou significativamente (p 0,05) esse parâmetro e a umidade não foi significativa. Para essa coordenada, a adição das fibras de casca de aveia, nos maiores teores, levou a um aumento significativo das respostas em comparação à adição das fibras da cana.…”

A review: Starch-based composite foams

“…For baked starch-based foams, natural fibers including soft wood, aspen, jute, flex, eucalypt cellulose, kraft pulp and malt bagasse have been added to improve performances of wheat, corn and tapioca (cassava) foams [2,10,14,23,28,29,30,55,74,77]. A large quantity of fibers studied as fillers are residues from agriculture and agro-industry.…”

“…[2,10,14,23,[28][29][30]55,74] Nanoreinforcements (e.g. nanoclays, nanocelluloses, and nanohydroxyapatite)  Density reduction  Uniformity of cell structure  Mechanical properties  Water resistance  Thermal properties Nanoparticles act as nucleating sites for cell formation during foaming and can largely decrease the foam density.…”

Characterisation of Cassava Bagasse and Composites Prepared by Blending with Low-Density Polyethylene

“…According to Akil et al (2011), vegetable fibres include bast fibres (or sclerenchyma), leaf or hard fibres, seeds, fruit, wood, cereal straw, and other grass fibres, most of which are composed of cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, waxes, and several water-soluble compounds, where cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin are the major constituents. Vegetable fibres have been used as a reinforcement of plastics and composites due to advantages such as lower density and good mechanical properties, as well as their economical and environmental advantages (Schmidt and Laurindo 2010;Debiagi et al 2011). If one is to consider cassava bagasse as potential polymer filler, it is important to know about its composition because, apart from containing cellulose and hemicelluloses, it also contains a high amount of starch, a natural polymer that has a high polarity due to the presence of large amounts of hydroxyls in its macromolecules, which interact with lignocellulosic fibres, resulting in improved mechanical properties (Corradini et al 2008).…”