Developing thermoplastic corn starch composites filled with brewer's spent grain for applications in biodegradable films

Abstract

Despite the growing interest in utilizing starch-based biodegradable films, their low mechanical properties generally limit them from being widely used. On the other hand, brewer's spent grain (BSG) is an abundant by-product thatdoes not yet have high added-value industrial use. This study proposes the development of starch-based composites filled with BSG for applications in biodegradable films. Different contents (1-5 wt%) of BSG fibers of different sizes (35, 60, and 100 mesh) were used aiming to identify the film compositions with better mechanical and thermal properties. The composites were produced by casting and had their mechanical, morphological, and thermal properties evaluated. The composites with the most promising mechanical properties

Application and characterisation of industrial brewing by‐products in biodegradable starch‐based expanded composites

“…Castanho et al . (2022) produced thermoplastic starch films with MB and observed that the mechanical performance was improved when smaller fibres were used, with a higher surface area‐to‐volume ratio. Ferreira et al .…”

“…Interestingly, this sample also produced the highest expansion index and the greatest amount of pores in the structure, promising results when considering a commercial application of the materials. Castanho et al (2022) produced thermoplastic starch films with MB and observed that the mechanical performance was improved when smaller fibres were used, with a higher surface area-to-volume ratio. Ferreira et al (2019) observed that expanded trays based on starch and MB had a higher rigidity than the expanded polystyrene, which is consistent with the results of this work.…”

Brewers' spent grain extract as antioxidants in starch‐based active biopolymers

“…cellulose, and 35%(wt.) hemicellulose (Ferreira et al ., 2019; Castanho et al ., 2022). Animal and human nutrition are the current applications of BSG, which includes solid fuel, as fillers for reinforcing materials, and as fertilisers.…”

Renewable thermoplastic starch/sugar alcohol blends and their oxygen barrier application

“…Thermoplastic starch (TPS) materials have been considered as fully renewable packaging materials for pharmacy, food, and cosmetic, because they own good meltprocessibility and/or oxygen barrier properties. [30][31][32][33][34] Relatively small OTR of $80, $105, and $120 cm 3 /m 2 ÁdayÁatm at $25 C/50% RH were acquired for corn ($150 μm), potato ($35 μm), and tapioca starch films ($80 μm), respectively. [31][32][33] While the OTR at 25 C/50% RH for plasticized tapioca films ($50 μm) increased from $90 to $100 cm 3 /m 2 ÁdayÁatm, when glycerol loadings increased by 5 wt%.…”