The Development of Cellulose Nanocrystals Reinforced with Carboxylmethyl Cellulose/Gelatin for Biodegradable Packaging
Abstract
It has significant potential to strengthen carboxymethyl cellulose/gelatin nanocomposite with cellulose nanocrystals from plantain stems for the production of bioplastics. Alkaline pretreatment and acid hydrolysis were used to extract cellulose nanocrystals from plantain stem. Films made of carboxymethyl cellulose and gelatin were strengthened using cellulose nanocrystals made from plantain stem fiber. SEM, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and water vapour permeability (WVP) were used to characterize the synthetic bioplastic's physical properties. The environmental deterioration of the bioplastic samples was observed over time at regular intervals in soil that was taken from a waste landfill. The results showed that the water vapour permeability of the investigated films was decreased by the addition of CNC from 2.45 x 10-6g/m x h x Pa to 1.73 x 10-6g/m x h x Pa. Additionally, it was discovered that unreinforced films degraded by 0.2% after 35 days, whereas 5wt% and 10wt% CNC reinforced films lost weight as a result of biodegradation by 0.1% and 0.18%, respectively. Overall, the interconnected carboxymethyl cellulose/gelatin bolstered CNC nanocomposite film for making plastics increased the heat and water vapour permeability of the packaging film, which offers the chances of their packaging application.
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Introduction
Hydrocarbon packaging materials currently pose a serious hazard to the environment as they are unable to decompose naturally and the scarcity of petroleum feedstock (Goh et al., 2016). Toxic waste production should be decreased by employing environmentally friendly and renewable methods. About 300 million metric tonnes of synthetic polymer will be discharged into the environment in 2018, with half of that quantity being released without being sorted, based on the assessment conducted by (Ogunola et al., 2018). Recycling plastic is not always easy because end products made from these wastes might not be suitable for use in post-consumer goods and because mixed plastic pollutants might cause problems. The demand for bioplastic as an alternative to traditional plastics has risen exponentially because to its non-toxicity, biocompatibility, renewability, and biodegradability features (Mostafa et al., 2020). Biobased plastics can be degraded by microbial processes using a variety of raw materials (proteins and polysaccharides), largely generated from plants (cellulose-based plastics and starch-derived plastics), as well as algae and bacteria such polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) and polylactic acid (PLA). The amount of the plastic material is significant because it has the potential to be dangerous toward each human, communities, and the entire ecosystem (Gerritse et al., 2020; Mateos-Cárdenas et al., 2020). As a result, an increase in waste volume was caused by an unrestrained population growth and an excessive use of non-renewable resources. Only a few methods exist at the moment for partially eradicating harmful wastes, such as landfills and ocean discharges of an assortment of materials, some of which can decompose in a predetermined amount of time while other garbage cannot decompose for hundreds of years. The bio bags, on the other hand, were expected to differ from conventional plastic bags only little (Fernández-Braa et al., 2019). All these issues with conventional plastic have been addressed by the introduction of biopolymers, which maintains remarkable distinctive qualities and is more reliable today. It could be among the best solutions to fill the void left by the widespread prohibition of regular plastic.
Conclusion
Plantain stem fiber was used to make cellulose nanocrystals with sizes varying from 20 to 50 nm with both the aim of fabricating as well as strengthening nanocomposite films with CMC and gelatin as the matrix for upcoming packaging applications. Interestingly, the thermal efficiency of the CMC-gelatin matrix performed better with the inclusion of CNC. The thermal conductivity of the film was increased to 390–407°C. The enhancement in thermal properties shows that the plantain stem CNC's act as an insulator shielded the volatile compounds released during disintegration from mass transfer. The water vapour permeability of the films under investigation also showed that the inclusion of CNC to the CMC-gelatin matrix decreased the water vapour permeability from 2.45 x 10-6 g/(m x h x Pa) to 1.73 x 10-6 g/(m x h x Pa). Although hydrophobic, CNC has a higher water barrier property due to its capacity to create a compact three-dimensional framework with the matrix and have less water particle accessibility. The demonstrated findings support the use of plantain stem CNC strengthened CMC-gelatin films as potential sustainable packaging materials, notably for on-the-go food containers.