Fully biobased, elastomeric and compostable random copolyesters of poly(butylene succinate) containing Pripol 1009 moieties: Structure-property relationship

Opportunities in the microbial valorization of sugar industrial organic waste to biodegradable smart food packaging materials

Many petroleum-derived plastics, including food packaging materials are non-biodegradable and designed for single-use applications. Annually, around 175 Mt. of plastic enters the land and ocean ecosystems due to mismanagement and lack of techno economically feasible plastic waste recycling technologies. Renewable sourced, biodegradable polymer-based food packaging materials can reduce this environmental pollution. Sugar production from sugarcane or sugar beet generates organic waste streams that contain fermentable substrates, including sugars, acids, and aromatics. Microbial metabolism can be leveraged to funnel those molecules to platform chemicals or biopolymers to generate biodegradable food packaging materials that have active or sensing molecules embedded in biopolymer matrices. The smart package can real-time monitor food quality, assure health safety, and provide economic and environmental benefits. Active packaging materials display functional properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, and light or gas barrier. This article provides an overview of potential biodegradable smart/active polymer packages for food applications by valorizing sugar industry-generated organic waste. We highlight the potential microbial pathways and metabolic engineering strategies to biofunnel the waste carbon efficiently into the targeted platform chemicals such as lactic, succinate, muconate, and biopolymers, including polyhydroxyalkanoates, and bacterial cellulose. The obtained platform chemicals can be used to produce biodegradable polymers such as poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) that could replace incumbent polyethylene and polypropylene food packaging materials. When nanomaterials are added, these polymers can be active/smart. The process can remarkably lower the greenhouse gas emission and energy used to produce food-packaging material via sugar industrial waste carbon relative to the petroleum-based production. The proposed green routes enable the valorization of sugar processing organic waste into biodegradable materials and enable the circular economy.

Polybutylene Succinate, A potential bio-degradable polymer: Synthesis, copolymerization And Bio-degradation

Poly(butylene succinate) is one of the emerging bio-degradable polymer, which has huge potential to be employed in a wide range of applications. Further, it is also recognized as one of...

Impacts of Baobab (Adansonia digitata) Powder on the Poly(Butylene Succinate) Polymer Degradability to Form an Eco-Friendly Filler-Based Composite

Poly (butylene succinate) (PBS) is one of the most common biodegradable plastic polymers that has recently been used in the green environmental field. Enhancement of physicochemical characteristics of these polymers by using plant-based materials like Baobab (Adansonia digitata) will improve its industrial application. This study evaluated Baobab (Adansonia digitata) powder (BP) and PBS composites under various ratios (PBS/BP: 90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40, and 50/50 wt%) for their thermo-mechanical and other physicochemical properties for the industrial application. The nanoscale morphological and elemental characterization were also measured by scanning electron microscope-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The results revealed that PBS/BP blends of 90/10 and 50/50 showed a significantly reduced melting temperature (Tm) up to 94°C (p < 0.05) compared to PBS (114°C). Also, the dynamic viscosity, storage modulus, and loss modulus showed a significant decrease with increasing the ratio of BP in PBS/BP composite, which confirmed faster degradation than the pure PBS. In conclusion, the novel PBS/BP biomaterial is recommended for use as a carbon source for denitrification processes, as an eco-friendly faster degradable natural filler-based polymer. Besides, they could be use in food packaging and biomedical industries.

Common Nettle (Urtica dioica L.) as an Active Filler of Natural Rubber Biocomposites

Common nettle (Urtíca Dióica L.), as a natural fibrous filler, may be part of the global trend of producing biocomposites with the addition of substances of plant origin. The aim of the work was to investigate and explain the effectiveness of common nettle as a source of active functional compounds for the modification of elastomer composites based on natural rubber. The conducted studies constitute a scientific novelty in the field of polymer technology, as there is no research on the physico-chemical characteristics of nettle bio-components and vulcanizates filled with them. Separation and mechanical modification of seeds, leaves, branches and roots of dried nettle were carried out. Characterization of the ground plant particles was performed using goniometric measurements (contact angle), Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), themogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The obtained natural rubber composites with different bio-filler content were also tested in terms of rheological, static and dynamic mechanical properties, cross-linking density, color change and resistance to simulated aging processes. Composites with the addition of a filler obtained from nettle roots and stems showed the highest mechanical strength. For the sample containing leaves and branches, an increase in resistance to simulated ultraviolet and thermo-oxidative aging processes was observed. This phenomenon can be attributed to the activity of ingredients with high antioxidant potential contained in the plant.

Hardness Modulated Thermoplastic Poly(ether Ester) Elastomers for the Automobile Weather-strip Application

As a means of developing new material for automobile weather-stripping and seal parts replacing the conventional ethylene propylene diene monomer rubber/polypropylene vulcanizate, a series of poly(ether ester) elastomers are synthesized. The hardness is modulated by controlling chain extender composition after fixing the hard segment to soft segment ratio. Targeted hardness is achieved by partly substituting conventional chain extender 1,4-butandiol for soybean oil-originated fatty acid amide diol that bears a long chain branch. The crystallinity and phase separation behavior resultant elastomer are also tunable simply by modulating chain extender composition and hard to soft segment ratio.

Sustainable composites from biodegradable poly(butylene succinate) modified with thermoplastic starch and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate): preparation and performance

A ternary blend of biodegradable polymers, namely PBS-g-GMA, thermoplastic starch (TPS) and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT), was successfully fabricated attempt to achieve novel biodegradable composites with comprehensive properties.

PBS-Based Green Copolymer as an Efficient Compatibilizer in Thermoplastic Inedible Wheat Flour/Poly(butylene succinate) Blends

Considering the current context of research aiming at proposing new bioplastics with low costs and properties similar to fossil-based commodities currently on the market, in the present work, a hybrid blend containing a prevalent amount of cheap inedible cereal flour (70 wt %) and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) (30 wt %) has been prepared by a simple, eco-friendly, and low-cost processing methodology. In order to improve the interfacial tension and enhance the adhesion between the different phases at the solid state, with consequent improvement in microstructure uniformity and in material mechanical and adhesive performance, the PBS fraction in the blend was replaced with variable amounts (0–25 wt %) of PBS-based green copolymer, which exerted the function of a compatibilizer. The copolymer is characterized by an ad hoc chemical structure, containing six-carbon aliphatic rings, also present in the flour starch structure. The two synthetic polyesters obtained through two-stage melt polycondensation have been deeply characterized from the molecular, thermal, and mechanical points of view. Copolymerization deeply impacts the polymer final properties, the crystallizing ability, and stiffness of the PBS homopolymer being reduced. Also, the prepared ternary blends were deeply investigated in terms of microstructure, thermal, and mechanical properties. Lastly, both pure blend components and ternary blends were subjected to disintegration experiments under composting conditions. The results obtained proved how effective was the compatibilizer action of the copolymer, as evidenced by the investigation conducted on morphology and mechanical properties. Specifically, the mixtures with 15 and 20 wt % Co appeared to be characterized by the best mechanical performance, showing a progressive increase of deformation while preserving good values of elastic modulus and stress. The disintegration rate in compost was found to be higher for the lower amount of copolymer in the ternary blend. However, after 90 days of incubation, the blend richest in copolymer content lost 62% of weight.

Effect of the Crystallization Conditions on the Exclusion/Inclusion Balance in Biodegradable Poly(butylene succinate-ran-butylene adipate) Copolymers

Biomedical applications of polymers require precise control of the solid-state structure, which is of particular interest for biodegradable copolymers. In this work, we evaluated the influence of crystallization conditions on the comonomer exclusion/inclusion balance of biodegradable poly(butylene succinate-ran-butylene adipate) (PBSA) isodimorphic random copolymers. Regardless of the crystallization conditions, the copolymers retain their isodimorphic character, displaying a pseudo-eutectic behavior with crystallization in the entire composition range. This illustrates the thermodynamic nature of the isodimorphic behavior for PBSA random copolymers. However, depending on the composition, the crystallization conditions affect the exclusion/inclusion balance of the comonomers. Fast cooling favors butylene adipate (BA) inclusion inside the poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) crystals, whereas isothermal crystallization strongly limits it. PBA-rich compositions behave differently. Both fast and slow crystallization formed the β-phase, whereas BS unit inclusion is favored independently of the cooling conditions. During successive self-nucleation and annealing, the BA inclusion is intermediate between non-isothermal and isothermal conditions, while the crystalline structure of the PBA phase changes from the β-phase to the more stable α-phase. We propose a simple crystallographic model to explain the changes in the unit cell dimension of the copolymers.