The Role of Biopolymers in Obtaining Environmentally Friendly Materials

Polymeric materials have had a boom in the global industry over the past two decades, because of its adaptability, durability, and price so much so that now we cannot imagine a product that does not contain it. However, many synthetic polymers that have been developed are mainly derived from petroleum and coal as raw material, which make them incompatible with the environment, since they cannot be included in what is a natural recycling system. Aware of the environmental impacts that produce synthetic polymers, a solution could be the mixtures with different types and sources of biological materials, called biopolymers, such as starch, cellulose, chitosan, zein, gelatin among others and that gradually replace synthetic polymers to address and resolve these problems. The development of new applications, such as composite materials by incorporation of alternative materials, found in nature that has similar properties to oil‐based polymers, but its main feature is its biodegradability and offering competitive to current material costs. In this sense, various investigations are aimed at decreasing the amounts of plastic waste and to manufacture products with less aggressive environment since the synthetic plastics are difficult to recycle and can remain in nature for over a century

Obtención y caracterización de almidón de plátano (Musa paradisiaca L.) acetilado a diferentes grados de sustitución

El almidon fue aislado de frutos inmaduros de plátano y fue modificado químicamente con anhídrido acético en la presencia de una base para mejorar las propiedades funcionales del almidón nativo. El almidón nativo primero reaccionó a 123ºC con 55,5 mL de anhídrido acético, con un tiempo de acetilación de 90 min. El máximo grado de sustitución bajo esas condiciones fue de 1,05. Fueron investigadas las propiedades térmicas del almidón modificado con el fin de determinar su potencial aplicación como polímero biodegradable para aplicaciones comerciales. Los gránulos de almidón fueron de forma oval y elongada con una longitud de 27,26 μm; la modificación mostró cambios grandes en el tamaño. Los cambios morfológicos fueron observados por lo menos en la región superficial de los gránulos. Un patrón de difracción de rayos X (RX) tipo C se presentó en el almidón nativo de plátano y algunos cambios fueron observados después de la acetilación

FORMULATION, PHYSICOCHEMICAL, NUTRITIONAL AND SENSORIAL EVALUATION OF CORN TORTILLAS SUPPLEMENTED WITH CHÍA SEED (SALVIA HISPANICA L.)

http://www.agriculturejournals.cz/web/cjfs.htm?volume=30&firstPage=118&type=publishedArticl

FORMULATION, PHYSICOCHEMICAL, NUTRITIONAL AND SENSORIAL EVALUATION OF CORN TORTILLAS SUPPLEMENTED WITH CHÍA SEED (SALVIA HISPANICA L.)

http://www.agriculturejournals.cz/web/cjfs.htm?volume=30&firstPage=118&type=publishedArticl

OPTIMISATION OF CONDITIONS FOR GLUCOSE SYRUP PRODUCTION FROM BANANA (MUSA PARADISIACA L.) PULP USING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2010.02544.x/abstrac

Applications of Modified Starches

Starch is the main source of energy to humans, but starch today has other roles in food, packing and pharmaceutical industries like filler, emulsion stabilizer, coating, etc. The native form of starch has application limitations on broad range of temperature, pH and stability, among others, required on several industrial applications. The alternative way is modified starch to improve its properties and uses on several industrial fields. The book explores the use of physical and, chemical modifications and even the unusual modification using ionizing radiation on several sources of starch, the effect of them on the properties and application fields of modified starch

Properties of Edible Films Based on Oxidized Starch and Zein

The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of zein and film formulation on mechanical and structural properties of native (FNS), and oxidized with 2.5% (FOSA) and 3.5% (FOSB) banana starch. The oxidized starch showed differences from native starch due to the oxidation process, showing a decrease in lipids, proteins, and amylose. The increase of the sodium hypochlorite increased the content of carbonyl and carboxyl groups in the ranges 0.015–0.028% and 0.022–0.031%, respectively. The film obtained from FOSB displayed the highest tensile strength (5.05 MPa) and satisfactory elongation value (27.1%). The zein addition caused a decrease in these mechanical properties, as well as a significant decrease in water vapour permeability (WVP). However, films from FOSA and FOSB showed higher permeability than that of the native starch. The addition of glycerol and the level of oxidation increased the films moisture. Micrographs showed that, during the oxidation process, impurities were largely eliminated from the starch granule, noting more homogeneous structures both in granules and films

Physical, Physicochemical, Mechanical, and Structural Characterization of Films Based on Gelatin/Glycerol and Carbon Nanotubes

A new method to prepare glycerol/gelatin based films, by doping the film with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), was proposed. SDS was used to disperse CNTs in gelatin/glycerol films as follows: gelatin/glycerol (GG) incubated with equal concentrations of CNT and SDS; GG with 0.001% w/w CNT/SDS; GG with 0.002% CNT/SDS and GG with 0.004% CNT/SDS. Diffractograms of CNT/SDS /glycerol films showed an amorphous structure, being consistent with thermograms involving temperature and fusion enthalpy. Mechanical tests showed 30% increase in elongation at break of GG with 0.004% CNT/SDS, with respect to gelatin/glycerol/SDS control. Samples with CNT had increased water vapor permeability (WVP). The film fractal dimension indicated that, with the addition of the highest concentration of CNT, films with a homogeneous surface were obtained, with probable nanotube inclusion in the protein matrix. According to the results, the easy method used to prepare gelatin composite materials gave place to films with better physical, mechanical, and thermal properties

Thermal Treatment to Obtain 5-Hydroxymethyl Furfural (5-HMF), Furfural and Phenolic Compounds from Vinasse Waste from <i>Agave</i>

Vinasses represent important final disposal problems due to their physical-chemical composition. This work analyzed the composition of tequila vinasses and increased 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, furfural, and phenolic compounds using thermal hydrolysis with hydrogen peroxide as a catalyst. A statistical Taguchi design was used, and a UPLC-MS (XEVO TQS Micro) analysis determined the presence and increase of the components. The treatment at 130 °C, 40 min, and 0.5% of catalyst presented the highest increase for 5-HMF (127 mg/L), furfural (3.07 mg/L), and phenol compounds as chlorogenic (0.36 mg/L), and vanillic acid (2.75 mg/L). Additionally, the highest removal of total sugars (57.3%), sucrose (99.3%), and COD (32.9%). For the treatment T130:30m:0P the syringic (0.74 mg/L) and coumaric (0.013 mg/L) acids obtained the highest increase, and the treatment T120:30m:1P increased 3-hydroxybenzoic (1.30 mg/L) and sinapic (0.06 mg/L) acid. The revaluation of vinasses through thermal treatments provides guidelines to reduce the impact generated on the environment