A baseline study of the application of cottonseed protein and gin trash as heat-sealable paper coating for food packaging

Abstract

This study explores the potential use of cottonseed protein (CSP) and gin trash blend as an alternative coating material to polyethylene (PE) for food packaging paper. The main objective of this research was to document the preparation methods and baseline characterization data for three CSP based coatings: CSP coating, CSP+ 2% wt% gin trash coating, and CSP+ 10 wt% gin trash coating. Baseline data were obtained for CSP and gin trash coatings, including density, coating weight and volume solids on paper, adhesion ability to paper, heat sealing strength, water absorption behavior during coating, mechanical tensile strength, and oxygen and water vapor barrier properties. The results indicated that CSP exhibits potential as a viable alternative to PE as a paper coating, as it demonstrated noticeable adhesion to paper. The incorporation of gin trash enhanced heat sealing strength and transverse tensile strength. The 10 wt% gin trash concentration added CSP emerged as a viable option for further investigation. Finally, baseline improvement and further research focuses were discussed in this study to address performance gaps between PE coated paper and CSP+ gin trash coated paper were identified.