Bio-composite film from corn starch based vetiver cellulose

ABSTRACT

Bio-composites have lately established wide applicability in various industrial sectors such as automobile, construction, packaging, and coatings. Due to their global abundance, natural fibers and starch have been one of the most tested raw materials to be utilized as bio-composite reinforcements. This investigation aims to fabricate corn starch (CS) reinforced vetiver cellulose fibers (VCF) composites using the solution casting method. For the VCF reinforcement, alpha (α)-cellulose was synthesized from the vetiver roots and post-converted into nano-cellulose using the ball milling technique. Various compositions comprising 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% (by weight) of this α-cellulose were inserted as reinforcement to commercially available CS matrix. The fabricated composite specimens were put to tensile, water absorption capacity, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and contact angle determination tests to evaluate the film properties. Crystallinity and failure morphology analysis of the composites was captured using the X-Ray Diffraction and scanning electron microscopy techniques, respectively. Results reveal that the incorporation of VCF in the CS matrix domain enhances the mechanical properties of bio-composites. Furthermore, the water absorption capacity decreased, and the contact angle increased; thereby predicting the composite’s potential application as a lightweight food packaging material.

摘要

最近, 生物复合材料在汽车, 建筑, 包装和涂料等工业领域具有广泛的适用性. 由于天然纤维和淀粉在全球范围内的丰富性, 它们已成为生物复合材料增强材料中最受考验的原材料之一. 本研究旨在利用溶液浇铸法制备玉米淀粉 (CS) 增强香根草纤维素纤维 (VCF) 复合材料. 对于VCF增强, 从香根草根合成α-纤维素, 并使用球磨技术将其后转化为纳米纤维素. 将包含该α-纤维素的0, 5, 10, 15和20% (按重量计) 的各种组合物作为增强剂插入到市售CS基质中. 将制备的复合材料试样进行拉伸, 吸水能力, 傅里叶变换红外光谱和接触角测定测试, 以评估薄膜性能. 分别使用X射线衍射和扫描电子显微镜技术对复合材料的结晶度和失效形态进行了分析. 结果表明, 在CS基体中加入VCF可以提高生物复合材料的力学性能. 吸水量降低, 接触角增大; 从而预测该复合材料作为轻质食品包装材料的潜在应用.

KEYWORDS:

• Starch
• cellulose
• food packaging
• mechanical testing
• bio-composite

关键词:

• 淀粉
• 纤维素
• 食品包装
• 机械测试
• 生物复合材料

Author contribution

“All the authors contributed equally for data curation, formal analysis, methodology, conceptualization, project administration, resources, investigation, supervision, and writing.”

Data availability

“All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.”

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Animal research (ethics)

“This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by the authors.”

Consent to participate (ethics)

“The authors give the consent to participate this research study.”

Consent to publish (ethics)

“The authors give the consent to publish this research work in the journal.”

Additional information

Funding

The Deanship of Scientific Research (DSR) at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah Saudi Arabia has funded this project, under grant number (KEP-65-130-42).