High-performance starch biocomposites with celullose from waste biomass: Film properties and retrogradation behaviour

Abstract

In this work, the effects of relative humidity (RH) pre-conditioning (53% vs. 85% RH) and incorporation of cellulose fillers (from Posidonia waste biomass) on the properties and retrogradation of melt compounded starch biocomposites were investigated. Preconditioning at 85% RH promoted starch gelatinization during processing, leading to more amorphous materials with reduced stiffness but better barrier properties.Furthermore, these films were less stable upon storage due to greater starch retrogradation. Cellulose incorporation improved significantly the mechanical and water barrier performance, especially in the films pre-conditioned at 85% RH due to enhanced filler dispersion. Although incomplete gelatinization of the starch pre-conditioned at 53% RH led to films with bigger cellulose aggregates, their mechanical and water barrier properties were better, outperforming starch-cellulose biocomposites typically reported in the literature. Moreover, the presence of cellulose limited the degree of starch retrogradation upon storage, highlighting the potential of Posidonia biomass as a cheap source of high-performance fillers.

Nano-/microstructure of extruded Spirulina/starch foams in relation to their textural properties

“…The WAXS patterns from the stored foams are shown in Figure 6A. As observed, the crystalline structure of the foams changed from the non-stable V-type mixture observed shortly after processing the samples (T0) towards a VA type structure, in agreement with what has been previously reported for other extruded starch samples (Benito-González, et al, 2019;J. J.…”

Valorisation of Posidonia oceanica Sea Balls (Egagropili) as a Potential Source of Reinforcement Agents in Protein-Based Biocomposites

“…One of the largest PO patches in the Mediterranean Sea contains forty undersea meadows stretching over two thousand miles. PO has been demonstrated to be an optimum source for the extraction of lignocellulosic fractions with promising properties for the development of packaging materials or to be used as fillers to enhance the properties of other biopolymers [7][8][9][10]. Cellulose extracted from PO, for example, has been proposed as a source of both carboxymethylcellulose [11,12] and sodium cellulose carboxymethylate [13] used as absorption materials.…”

In-Depth Characterization of Bioactive Extracts from Posidonia oceanica Waste Biomass

“…With regards to the raw materials used for the production of bioactive-rich extracts, although medicinal plants have been typically used up to date [3], the circular economy policies currently being promoted in Europe, aiming to reduce and reuse the different types of residues, are fostering the exploration of alternative biomass resources [4,5,6]. In particular, aquatic biomass, such as seaweeds and aquatic plants, represent an interesting alternative for the production of bioactive extracts, given their great availability and abundance and their high content in bioactive components, such as sulphated polysaccharides, polyphenols and fatty acids [7].…”