Mechanical properties and water vapor permeability of thin film from corn hull arabinoxylan

Abstract

Isolated corn hull arabinoxylan was dissolved in water and provided a clear solution. Plasticizer (glycerol, propylene glycol, or sorbitol) was added to the arabinoxylan solution at 0 -20 wt % (film dry weight), which was cast into stable films. Film thickness ranged from 22 to 32 m. Mechanical properties, moisture content, and water vapor permeability (WVP) were studied for the arabinoxylan-based films as a function of plasticizer concentration. Measured data for the corn hull arabinoxylan-based films were 13-18 wt % moisture content, 10 -61 MPa tensile strength, 365-1320 MPa modulus, 6 -12% elongation, and 0.23-0.43 ϫ 10 Ϫ10 g m Ϫ1 Pa Ϫ1 s Ϫ1 water vapor permeability. Plasticized arabinoxylan films produced in this study had lower WVPs than those of unplasticized films, which is likely attributable to the phenomenon known as antiplasticization. Scanning electron micrographs showed a homogeneous structure on film surfaces. Films containing sorbitol had the best moisture barrier properties. When grapes were coated with arabinoxylan and arabinoxylan/sorbitol films, weight loss rates of the fruit decreased by 18 and 41%, respectively, after 7 days.

Long-Term Physical Stability of Plasticized Hemicellulose Films

“…An increasing number of studies have investigated the use of hemicelluloses as sustainable packaging material, as pointed out in reviews by Hansen and Plackett (2008) and . Film formation from agro-based xylans, such as those from cotton stalks, barley husks, oat spelt, corn hulls, and wheat bran, has been studied lately (Zhang and Whistler 2004;Höije et al 2005;Mikkonen et al 2009;Zhang et al 2011;Bahcegul et al 2012). GGM film formation has been studied with plasticizers, with reinforcement using nano-sized cellulose, and with cross-linking agents (Hartman et al 2006, Mikkonen et al 2010.…”

Composite Films of Arabinoxylan and Fibrous Sepiolite: Morphological, Mechanical, and Barrier Properties

“…5 Indeed, over the past few years, there have been a number of reports discussing films prepared from xylans extracted from aspen or beech, barley husks, oat spelts, wheat bran, rye grains, or corn hulls and bran. [1][2][3]6,7 Agricultural byproducts such as oat spelt or barley husk arabinoxylans have been shown to provide good oxygen and/or grease barrier films in applications where moderately high water vapor permeability is required. 1,2 Hemicelluloses are hydrophilic polysaccharides and films tend to show poor properties in highly humid environments,and, on the application, mechanical properties may also need improvement.…”

Nonxylan Hemicelluloses as a Source of Renewable Materials

“…This is still the case even though, as reported, there have been extensive studies on hemicellulose modification with new potential applications in mind. Production of films which may ultimately be suitable for a niche in the commodity packaging market has been in focus, and as well as investigations on xylans, konjac glucomannan or galactoglucomannan from spruce wood (Figure 15.10) have been studied in this context (Zhang and Whistler, 2004;Hartman et al, 2006b;Mikkonen et al, 2008). From a commercial perspective, to the authors' knowledge the only company so far which has successfully transferred hemicellulose technology for packaging out of the laboratory and into a commercial setting is the Swedish company Xylophane AB (http://www.xylophane.com).…”