October 10, 2024
(press release)
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This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon. 1 Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Polímeros (ICTP-CSIC), C/Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006 Madrid, Spain 2 Grupo de Tecnología de Materiales y Envases, Instituto Tecnológico del Embalaje, Transporte y Logística, ITENE, Unidad Asociada Al CSIC, C/Albert Einstein 1, Paterna, 46980 Valencia, Spain 3 Departamento de Ingeniería Química Industrial y del Medio Ambiente, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Industriales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (ETSII-UPM), C/José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, 28006 Madrid, Spain * Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed. Polymers 2024, 16(20), 2868; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16202868 Abstract Biopolymers derived from biomass can provide the advantages of both biodegradability and functional qualities from a circular economy point of view, where waste is transformed into raw material. In particular, avocado seeds can be considered an interesting residue for biobased packaging applications due to their high starch content. In this work, avocado seed starch (ASS)-based films containing different glycerol concentrations were prepared by solvent casting. Films were also reinforced with starch nanocrystals (SNCs) obtained through the acid hydrolysis of ASS. The characterization of the extracted starch and starch nanocrystals by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis has been reported. Adding 1% of SNCs increased elastic modulus by 112% and decreased water vapor permeability by 30% with respect to neat matrix. Interestingly, the bioactive compounds from the avocado seed provided the films with high antioxidant capacity. Moreover, considering the long time required for traditional plastic packaging to degrade, all of the ASS-based films disintegrated within 48 h under lab-scale composting conditions. The results of this work support the valorization of food waste byproducts and the development of reinforced biodegradable materials for potential use as active food packaging.
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