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Research article2013Peer reviewed

Oilseed Meal Based Plastics from Plasticized, Hot Pressed Crambe abyssinica and Brassica carinata Residuals

Newson, William Roy; Hedenqvist, Mikael S; Gällstedt, Mikael; Kuktaite, Ramune

Abstract

With the increased use of plant oils as sustainable feedstocks, industrial oilseed meal from Crambe abyssinica (crambe) and Brassica carinata (carinata) can become a potential source for oilseed meal based plastics. In this study, crambe and carinata oilseed meal plastics were produced with 10–30 % glycerol and compression molding at 100–180 C. Size exclusion HPLC was used to relate tensile properties to changes in protein solubility and molecular weight distribution. By combining glycerol and thermal processing, increased flexibility has been observed compared to previous work on unplasticized oilseed meal. Tensile results varied from a brittle crambe based material (10 % glycerol, 130 C), Young’s modulus 240 MPa, strain at maximum stress of 2 %, to a soft and flexible carinata based material (30 % glycerol, 100 C), Young’s modulus 6.5 MPa, strain at maximum stress of 13 %. Strength and stiffness development with increasing molding temperature is in agreement with the protein profiles obtained. Thus, the highest mechanical parameters were obtained at the protein solubility minimum at 140 C. Higher temperatures caused protein degradation, increasing the level of low molecular weight extractable proteins. In carinata based materials the strain at maximum stress decreased as the protein aggregation developed. Results presented indicate that both crambe and carinata oilseed meal based materials can have their properties modulated through thermal treatment and the addition of plasticizers.

Published in

Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society
2013, Volume: 90, number: 8, pages: 1229-1237
Publisher: Springer Verlag (Germany)