Abstract
In the present study, circular economy based and potentially low-cost poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) was produced by mixed microbial cultures derived from fruit pulp, an industrial by-product of the juice industry. Three different chemical routes, namely non-extraction, extraction with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), and extraction with chloroform, in combination with filtering and centrifugation, were explored to purify the biopolymer and find the most optimal solution for its processing via electrospinning. The resultant ultrathin fiber mats of the different extracted PHBV materials were thermally post-processed at different temperatures in order to obtain continuous films adequate for food packaging applications. The resultant films were characterized in terms of morphology, crystallinity as well as thermal, mechanical, and barrier properties. The results showed that extraction with both chloroform and NaClO with a post-treatment of filtering and centrifugation of the PHBV-containing biomass were necessary refining steps to allow its processing by electrospinning. In particular, the PHBV extracted with chloroform presented the highest degree of purity, resulting in more transparent films with lower wettability and higher flexibility. The here-formulated electrospun films made of biomass derived from biowaste exhibit great potential as interlayers or coatings for food biopackaging applications.
Highlights
The growing concern for plastic waste disposal of petroleum-based materials has intensified the study and development of bio-based and biodegradable polymers, those synthesized from agro-industrial residues (Babu et al, 2013)
The PHBV sample again developed the brown color for both the sample filtered (Figure 2.5) and the sample filtered and centrifugated (Figure 2.6)
Circular economy and potentially low-cost PHBV-containing biomass, produced in a pilot plant scale from mixed microbial cultures fed with fruit pulp biowaste, was optimally subjected to two extraction process, namely NaClO and chloroform, and subsequently electrospun and post-processed by annealing to form continuous films with high transparency
Summary
The growing concern for plastic waste disposal of petroleum-based materials has intensified the study and development of bio-based and biodegradable polymers, those synthesized from agro-industrial residues (Babu et al, 2013). PHAs provide a good alternative to fossil-derived polymers, showing the highest potential to replace polyolefins in packaging. The most widely studied PHA is poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), which possesses similar thermal and mechanical properties than polystyrene (PS) and isotactic polypropylene (iPP) (Savenkova et al, 2000). PHB homopolyester has, excessive brittleness and a narrow processing temperature window, which limit its use for packaging applications (Reis et al, 2008). Its copolymer with 3-hydroxyvalerate (HV), i.e., poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) has a much lower crystallinity, decreased stiffness, and lower melting temperature (Chen and Wang, 2002; Martínez-Sanz et al, 2016)
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