Abstract
The replacement of common acrylic derivatives by biodegradable materials in the formulation of superabsorbent materials would lessen the associated environmental impact. Moreover, the use of by-products or biowastes from the food industry that are usually discarded would promote a desired circular economy. The present study deals with the development of superabsorbent materials based on a by-product from the meat industry, namely plasma protein, focusing on the effects of a freeze-drying stage before blending with glycerol and eventual injection molding. More specifically, this freeze-drying stage is carried out either directly on the protein flour or after its solubilization in deionized water (10% w/w). Superabsorbent materials obtained after this solubilization-freeze-drying process display higher Young’s modulus and tensile strength values, without affecting their water uptake capacity. As greater water uptake is commonly related to poorer mechanical properties, the proposed solubilization-freeze-drying process is a useful strategy for producing strengthened hydrophilic materials.
Highlights
Superabsorbent materials are capable of absorbing and retaining water in quantities higher than ten times their own dry weight [1,2]
The present study deals with the development of superabsorbent materials based on a by-product from the meat industry, namely plasma protein, focusing on the effects of a freeze-drying stage before blending with glycerol and eventual injection molding
The meat industry produces a huge amount of blood, which is rich in proteins [13] and should not be directly disposed of in landfills or effluents due to its high organic charge, which can produce high pollution levels due to the high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) [14,15,16]
Summary
Superabsorbent materials are capable of absorbing and retaining water in quantities higher than ten times their own dry weight [1,2]. Superabsorbent materials are based on acrylic derivatives [3,4], which are expensive, toxic, and highly pollutant due to their fairly low biodegradability These materials are extensively used in the personal care industry, so their use time is relatively short as they are disposable, which contributes to the environmental issues caused by poorly biodegradable synthetic plastics. Plasma is the blood fraction that remains after the separation of the red cells and platelets [17] through centrifugation, which can be dried to obtain a porcine plasma protein (PPP) powder This by-product is already used in the food industry either as an emulsifier, as a water-holding agent [18] in frankfurters [19,20] and sausages [13], or as an alternative to certain other protein ingredients, such as egg [21,22]. Some studies have pointed out the potential of PPP for superabsorbent applications, showing water uptake capacity values as high as 3600% [6], which can be attributed to its considerable contents of polar amino acids, such as glutamic and aspartic acid [26]
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