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Conference paper2014Peer reviewed

New bio-based plastics, from a non-edible plant oil side-stream, for film extrusion

Rasel, H.; Hedenqvist, M.; Johansson, T.; Newson, W.; Johansson, E.; Gällstedt, M.

Abstract

Renewable sourced PET, PA, PE, starch blends, etc, are fastly growing due to the processability and final performance, that is similar to their petroleum derived options. A bit in the shadow of the development of these plastics, development is ongoing on another group of plastics, made directly of the side-streams of agricultural products: oil plant residues and proteins. They can be used in edible applications but not all of them are suitable for food or forage. Industrial oilseed meal from crambe abyssinica contains relatively high levels of protein that is not suitable for human or animal consumption due to the presence of anti-nutritional compounds. This paper presents research on crambe meal as a base for new plastics, developed to extrude continuous, flexible plastic films based on crambe meal, blended with vital wheat gluten as an elastic component and urea as a protein denaturant. The effect of process parameters, such as screw speed, die temperature and pressure, and the effect of components were studied with regards to the final performance of the film extrudates. E.g. mechanical properties, oxygen permeability and moisture content were determined and surface and cross-section morphologies were examined with electron microscopy. The results showed that crambe-based blends can be extruded as continuous, flexible plastic films, which exhibit barrier properties towards oxygen. Recipes and methods for pelletizing of master batches for post-converting (e.g. extrusion or compression molding) were successfully developed. Addition of a renewable plasticizer improved the extrusion performance and resulted in less hygroscopic films, which further showed the overall highest tensile strength while the extensibility was nearly unaffected. The results provide a first basis to further develop the process and the blend towards potential industrial applications, for example as packaging materials to trays, pots and similar type of packages.

Keywords

Crambe; Extrusion; Oxygen barrier; Renewable plastics; Wheat gluten

Published in

Title: 19th IAPRI World Conference on Packaging 2014 : Responsible Packaging for a Global Market : Melbourne, Australia 15-18 June 2014
Publisher: Victoria University

Conference

19th IAPRI World Conference on Packaging 2014: Responsible Packaging for a Global Market, Melbourne, Australia 15-18 June 2014

SLU Authors

UKÄ Subject classification

Bio Materials

Publication identifier

  • ISBN: 978-1-5108-2131-6

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/132095