Poly (Vinyl Alcohol)/ Carboxymethyl Cellulosesodium Salt/ Carrot Fiber-Containing Composite Thin Films: Thermomechanical and Biodegradation Study

Abstract

Carrot (Daucus Carota L.) fiber consists of cellulosic substances and can be used to make biodegradable and economical packaging films. Biofilms of Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and Carboxymethyl cellulose-Na salt (CMC) with Carrot fiber (CF) have been synthesized by solution casting technique. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is used as a plasticizer for a sustainable reaction medium. FTIR, UV-Visible, thermal analysis, SEM and tensile testing techniques have been used to analyze the films. The thermal decomposition of biofilms was studied by a thermogravimetric analyzer in a nitrogen atmosphere at a heating rate of 10 °C min -1 from ambient temperature to 600 °C. Kinetic parameters were calculated using kinetic methods viz. Broido, Coats-Redfern and Horowitz-Metzger. FTIR spectra give out the results for significant peak changes and are backed by UV-spectra to compare the optical properties of composites with neat PVA. Young's Modulus (MPa) and Tensile strength (MPa) values decrease with fiber addition to PVA/CMC. An optimal value of 12.5 wt % loading was obtained concerning tensile as well as thermal analysis data. Biodegradation studies were also performed in soil and compost. Route of degradation has been proposed based on spectral studies. It is concluded that the incorporation of carrot fibers in composites enhanced the degradation of PVA just like CMC and resulted in films with enhanced UV protection properties.

Biodegradable Packaging Based on Poly(vinyl Alcohol) and Carboxymethyl Cellulose Films Incorporated with Ascorbic Acid for Food Packaging Applications

“…A significant weight loss was observed. Both films, 60PVA:40CMC:AA and 70PVA:30CMC:AA, have shown the best degradation values of 71 and 65%, respectively, which is in agreement with the previously done study on the PVA/CMC system . The presence of heterobonds in the PVA and CMC chemical structure facilitates the biodegradation process.…”

“…Both films, 60PVA:40CMC:AA and 70PVA:30CMC:AA, have shown the best degradation values of 71 and 65%, respectively, which is in agreement with the previously done study on the PVA/CMC system. 36 The presence of heterobonds in the PVA and CMC chemical structure facilitates the biodegradation process. However, a high degradation rate for 60PVA:40CM-C:AA film was observed, which could be attributed to the high content of carbohydrates in the CMC, which provides a large carbon source to bacteria.…”

Thermal Behavior and Kinetic of Degradation of PVA and PVA/CS/AL Blend

“…Where W0 is the initial mass, and Wt is the mass at a certain time on heating (Bhat et al, 2013;Rani et al, 2021;Sedaghat et al, 2017;Zhou et al, 2009)…”

“…Activation energies were evaluated by Coats-Redfern, Broido, and Horowitz-Metzger methods. The final equations of those methods were shown in Table 2 (Kulkarni et al, 2019;Rani et al, 2021).…”