Development of environmentally friendly composite films based on cellulose

Abstract

In today's society, packaging is part of the daily life of all people wide world, as reflected in the production and intake data published in several studies. The excessive intake of these non-biodegradable materials and the problems associated with its poor management have led to an uncontrolled generation of non-biodegradable plastic waste in the environment. As result, society demands the development of new alternatives and biodegradable materials that can gradually replace, or at least partially, the main plastic materials used in the food industry. Among the main materials studied, cellulose is the most abundant polysaccharide on Earth that shows potential properties to develop new biodegradable materials. Despite that, the application of biodegradable materials based on cellulose is not widespread in the food industry. The main reason is due to a several limitations of cellulose materials, such as mechanical and optical properties among others. However, the combination of cellulose with other biodegradable polymers or plasticizing agents, such as polyvinyl alcohol and glycerol, offers a simple method to develop new composite materials with improved properties and potential applications.