Development of polymer blends of zein and cornstarch

O objetivo deste trabalho foi a produção de blendas a partir de zeína e amido de milho, procurando unir de forma otimizada as propriedades dos polímeros e suas características de processabilidade e o entendimento da correlação estrutura-propriedades destas blendas. Misturas de amidolzeína foram preparadas nas proporções de 0/100, 10190, 20180, 30170, 50150, 80120 e 10010 massa/massa%, utilizando glicerol como plastificante nas proporções de 22, 30 e 40% em relação a massa total dos polímeros. As formulações foram processadas em um misturador interno, tipo Haake, conectado ao reômetro de torque a 160°C. As misturas obtidas foram moldadas por compressão a 160°C. As propriedades das blendas foram aliadas por ensaios de absorção de umidade, difração de raios X, ensaios mecânicos (tração), calorimetria exploratória diferencial (DSC), termogravimetria (TG), análise termo dinâmica-mecânica, microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e microscopia ótica. As blendas com 22% de glicerol foram avaliadas também quanto a biodegradabilidade, utilizando a técnica de biodegradação aeróbia. A adição da zeína facilitou o pmcessamento das misturas, conforme o observado durante o processamento no reômetro de torque. A presença da zeína não afeta a cristalinidade do amido nas blendas e não ocorre a formação de novas estruturas cristalinas devido a mistura. As blendas amidolzeína apresentaram menor estabilidade térmica que o amido termoplástico e zeína plastificada separadamente e a estabilidade térmica das blendas diminuiu com o aumento do teor de glicerol. As propriedades mecânicas das blendas foram dependentes do teor de zeína e de glicerol. A adição de zeína na lenda provocou aumento no módulo de elasticidade e na resistência a tração e diminuição da deformação , enquanto que o gliceml provocou diminuição em todas estas propriedades. As blendas apresentaram-se imiscíveis em todas as composições estudadas. A zeína plastificada mostrou biodegradação mais acentuada que o amido termoplástico e as blendas apresentaram biodegradação intermediária entre o amido e a zeína.In this work were investigated blends from zein, which is a com protein, with com starch. The objective of this work was optimizing the polymers properties and their processing characteristics and looking for a structure-properties correlation of these blends. The mixtures of pure polymers and starchlzein blends were prepared using glycerol as plasticizer in a batch mixer connected to a torque rheometer. The zein content varied from 20 to 80% and three levels of glycerol were used, 22, 30 and 40 % of total starch plus zein weight, on a dry basis. The mixtures obtained were molded by compression at 160 OC. The blends were characterized by water absorption experiments, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetry (TG), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), tensile test, dynamical mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical microscopy. Additionally the biodegradability of starchtzein blends were evaluated by aerobic test. The torque behavior of the starchtzein blends shows that zein acts as a processing agent, reducing the melt viscosity of the mixture and facilitating the plasticization of starch. No evidence of the zein affecting the type or amount of crystal structure of thermoplastic starch was observed. The zein proved to be effective to reduce the water absorption of the blends. Mechanical properties of blends depends on the glycerol and zein contents. Young\'s modulus and ultimate tensile strength increase sharply with increasing zein content, while that the glycerol caused reduction on these properties. The blends were immiscible and phase invesion was observed. The results of biodegradation aerobic showed that after 45 days the zeína unfastened greater COz mass than the starch. This indicates that the zein biodegradation occurs more easily than the starch. The blends presented intermediate biodegradtion between the starch and the zein

Recent Advances in Food-Packing, Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Applications of Zein and Zein-Based Materials

Zein is a biodegradable and biocompatible material extracted from renewable resources; it comprises almost 80% of the whole protein content in corn. This review highlights and describes some zein and zein-based materials, focusing on biomedical applications. It was demonstrated in this review that the biodegradation and biocompatibility of zein are key parameters for its uses in the food-packing, biomedical and pharmaceutical fields. Furthermore, it was pointed out that the presence of hydrophilic-hydrophobic groups in zein chains is a very important aspect for obtaining material with different hydrophobicities by mixing with other moieties (polymeric or not), but also for obtaining derivatives with different properties. The physical and chemical characteristics and special structure (at the molecular, nano and micro scales) make zein molecules inherently superior to many other polymers from natural sources and synthetic ones. The film-forming property of zein and zein-based materials is important for several applications. The good electrospinnability of zein is important for producing zein and zein-based nanofibers for applications in tissue engineering and drug delivery. The use of zein’s hydrolysate peptides for reducing blood pressure is another important issue related to the application of derivatives of zein in the biomedical field. It is pointed out that the biodegradability and biocompatibility of zein and other inherent properties associated with zein’s structure allow a myriad of applications of such materials with great potential in the near future

Composição química, propriedades mecânicas e térmicas da fibra de frutos de cultivares de coco verde

O consumo da água de coco verde, in natura ou industrializada, vem gerando um grande problema ambiental, devido ao destino final da casca dos frutos. Aproximadamente 85% do peso bruto do coco verde é constituído pelas cascas, que são acumuladas em lixões ou às margens de estradas. Como a minimização da geração desse resíduo implicaria a redução da atividade produtiva associada, o seu aproveitamento torna-se uma necessidade. Neste sentido, este estudo teve como objetivo investigar as características da fibra de coco verde de diversos cultivares em função do ponto de colheita dos frutos, na composição química, nas propriedades mecânicas e térmicas, como forma de contribuir para avaliar seu potencial de aplicação na elaboração de novos materiais. Os resultados mostraram que a variação da composição química em função da cultivar de coco verde foi na faixa de 37,2 ± 0,8% a 43,9±0,7% e de 31,5±0,1% a 37,4±0,5% para os teores de lignina e celulose, respectivamente. A composição química não variou significativamente em função do ponto de maturação para a fibra da cultivar Anão-Verde-de-Jiqui (AVeJ). A fibra de cultivares de coco verde e AVeJ em diferentes pontos de maturação apresentaram propriedades térmicas e mecânicas semelhantes, as quais são próximas das propriedades das fibras de coco maduro, demonstrando, portanto, um potencial equivalente para serem utilizadas como reforço em matrizes poliméricas

Preparation and characterization of thermoplastic starch/zein blends

Blends of starch and zein plasticized with glycerol were prepared by melting processing in an intensive batch mixer connected to a torque rheometer at 160 °C. The resulting mixtures were compression molded and then characterized by scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, wide-angle X ray diffraction and water-absorption experiments. The blends were immiscible, showing two distinct phases of starch and zein. The water uptake at equilibrium and its diffusion coefficient were determined. The water uptake at equilibrium decreased with increasing zein content. The diffusion coefficient fell sharply on addition of 20% zein and remained constant as zein content was increased. No appreciable effect of zein on starch crystallization was observed by X ray diffraction. The use of zein in thermoplastic starch compositions causes a decrease in the water sensitivity of these materials and lower its melt viscosity during processing making zein a suitable and very promising component in TPS compositions

Microstructure and thermal and functional properties of biodegradable films produced using zein

<div><p>Abstract Research is being conducted in an attempt to produce biodegradable packaging to replace plastic products, thereby reducing solid waste disposal. In this work, zein films were produced from vegetable oils (macadamia, olive and buriti) and from pure oleic acid. The surface of zein-based films made using oleic acid has a good lipid distribution. The high content of oleic acid produced a film with the greatest elongation at break (8.08 ± 2.71%) due to the greater homogeneity of the protein matrix. The different oils did not affect the glass transition temperature (Tg). Tg curves of films with fatty acids showed a reduction in mass at between 50 and 120 °C due to water evaporation. At 120 °C the weight loss was 3-5% and above this temperature further weight loss was observed with the highest loss being seen in the film made using pure oleic acid. In conclusion, although biodegradable films were produced using the four different oils, the film made from pure oleic acid has the best characteristics.</p></div

Monitoramento das propriedades térmicas das borrachas naturais de novos clones: IAC 301 e IAC 303

A borracha natural (BN) de três clones de seringueira [Hevea brasiliensis (Willd. exAdr. de Juss. Muell.-Arg.)] de um período de sete meses foi obtida por coagulação do látex com solução de ácido acético a 10% e seca a 65°C. As curvas TG-DTG foram utilizadas para monitorar as propriedades térmicas da BN. Os resultados indicaram pequenas variações entre clones e coletas, exceto no valor de Tf-T0, indicando que o clone IAC 301 sofre degradação mais rápida durante o processo termo degradação da BN seca. Não houve diferenças significativas nos valores de Tg entre clones e coletas.Natural rubber (NR) tapped from three clones of the rubber tree [Heveabrasiliensis (Willd. ex Adr. de Juss. Muell.-Arg.)] over a seven month period was obtained by coagulation of lattices with 10% acid acetic and dried at 65 °C. TG-DTG curves were used to monitor thermal properties of NR. The TG-DTG results indicated very small differences among the clones and tappings, except in the value of Tf-T0, which indicated that the IAC 301 clone suffered the fastest thermal degradation, during decomposition of the dried, raw NR. There was no significant difference in Tg values among clones and tappings

Dwarf-green coconut fibers: A versatile natural renewable raw bioresource. Treatment, morphology, and physicochemical properties

Dwarf-green coconut fibers were modified by alkali treatment and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), as well as thermogravimetric (TGA), mechanical, and dielectric analyses. Changes in composition, structure, and morphology of the coconut fibers were observed after sodium hydroxide treatments due to the removal of lignin, hemicellulose, and other impurities. The XRD data were in agreement with the morphological analysis, where the crystallinity fraction increased with the concentration of alkali solution and fell off above 10%. The infrared spectrometry showed the partial dissolution of hemicellulose, lignin, and pectin, which was clearly identified by the band at 1736 cm-1. Thermogravimetric analysis showed a double degradation process for the untreated dwarf-green coconut fibers, while a single one was observed after the pretreatment. The tensile properties showed an increased elongation at break, modulus, and strength, and the dielectric results showed a decrease of all parameters (permittivity, dielectric loss, and conductivity), reflecting the reduced dipole and ion mobility associated with the loss of amorphous components