Biodegradable PBAT/PLA blend films incorporated with turmeric and cinnamomum powder: A potential alternative for active food packaging.

Active packaging made from biodegradable polymers and natural additives appears as an ecological alternative. In addition to having antioxidant activity and enhancing food preservation, it allows mitigating the negative impacts caused by improper disposal. This study pursued to produce biodegradable films based on a polymer blend PBAT/PLA (Ecovio®) using the flat extrusion method. The films were prepared with the incorporation of 5 wt% of powdered turmeric or cinnamon as natural additives. The films obtained, and those reprocessed twice, were characterized in terms of colorimetric, UV light transmittance, water contact angle, water vapor permeability, morphology, mechanical properties, and antioxidant activity. Cinnamon reduced the UV light transmittance and made a surface more hydrophobic. Reprocessing led to greater elongation and maximum load, associated with increased dispersion and distribution, as evidenced in the morphological analysis. The films developed have significant potential for applications in active food packaging, with emphasis on cinnamon-additivated films.

Effect of reprocessing cycles on the degradation of PP/PBAT-thermoplastic starch blends.

The solid waste management problems caused by the accumulation of plastics require measures to mitigate the environmental damage, and mechanical recycling of plastics is among the possible solutions. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate the effects of mechanical recycling on the properties of a polypropylene/poly(butylene adipate co-terephthalate)-thermoplastic starch blend (PP/PBAT-Thermoplastic starch blend) when it was subjected to seven reprocessing cycles by a single-screw extruder. The observations by infrared spectroscopy indicated that the chemical structures of the blend and the polypropylene matrix did not present significant changes with the reprocessing cycles. The X-ray diffraction analyses showed that the PP crystals were most affected when reprocessed in their pure form. The observations by thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry indicated that the thermal stability of the blend was higher than that of polypropylene during the extrusion cycles. The scanning electron microscopy images indicated a weak interfacial interaction between the components of the blend, and the mechanical properties showed that the reprocessing improved the elasticity modulus and yield stress, with a consequential decrease of the impact strength.