Abstract
There is a rising demand for advanced new materials in food packaging to meet the growing economic and sustainability requirements. Natural fibers have excellent mechanical and thermal isolation properties and lower production costs than synthetic fibers, making them suitable candidates for the development of sustainable food packaging. Other characteristics of natural fibers, i.e., low cost, easy availability, and low impact on the environment, making these materials a promising option for food packaging. The primary focus of this study is to utilize multivariable analysis, an analytic hierarchy process and a multi-criteria decision analysis to select appropriate natural fiber reinforcement for food packaging from commonly used plant fibers (coir, date palm, hemp, sisal, jute, flax, corn stalk, banana, bamboo, cotton). The multivariable selection system is used to compare crucial food packaging materials’ requirements and production parameters gathered different properties including density, Young modulus, elongation to break, moisture content, thermal conductivity, cost, availability, etc, to help identify appropriate natural fibers. From the results, selecting the most appropriate natural fiber depends on the design requirements, cost, and availability; all these parameters are also affected by the geological conditions and customer needs. Single parameter comparison is used to compare the investigated natural fiber; then analytic hierarchy process is used to rank the highest priority parameters for the natural fiber selection process. The results showed that density (22%), cost (13.6%), moisture content (11.7%), thermal conductivity (10.7%), elongation at break (7.7%), and Young modulus (7.4%) are rated in the order of priority. Hemp, banana and sisal fibers are ranked as the best choices for the food packaging by the multi-criteria decision analysis, i.e. TOPSIS. Examples are presented considering the multivariable analysis using radar charts to identify the best natural fibers source for countries such as Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India. Date palm is a preferred natural fiber source for food packaging reinforcement in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, whereas bamboo and jute are better choices for India and Bangladesh.
Highlights
To meet the demands of an ever-growing population, processed foods have become very common
Within the domain of the plastic packaging market, food packaging is among the fastest-growing sectors
Having a higher specific modulus means that the food packaging can be stiffer, or thinner and lighter for a required stiffness
Summary
To meet the demands of an ever-growing population, processed foods have become very common. Within the domain of the plastic packaging market, food packaging is among the fastest-growing sectors. Foods may have a wide pH range and salt contents; can reduce the life of the materials used in the food industry [1]. There are other challenges such as corrosion protection that should be achieved for direct or indirect food contacts utilizing materials that satisfy the rigorous constraints [2]. Polymers are getting more attraction in the industry as of their added features such as health-friendly features, improved mechanical strength, increased corrosion resistance, easier fabrication, forming, and weldability [3,4,5,6]. The packaging industry has a major portion of global polymers market, for example it was 46% of the total market in 2016 [7]
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