This study was conducted as a first step in order to obtain green materials for food packaging by using an eco-friendly bioplastic, polylactic acid (PLA), and nontoxic plasticizers. Different types of nontoxic biocompatible plasticizers/lubricants, both obtained in the laboratory, as well as commercial ones, were employed to modulate physical and mechanical properties of PLA. Melt compounding by means of a Brabender mixer led to obtaining of homogeneous materials. The incorporation of PLA oligomer, L-lactide, poly(ethylene glycol), and epoxidized soybean oil (USE) improved the melt flow and processability, increasing the hydrophilicity of the resulted plasticized PLA systems. USE significantly increased the elongation at break, reduced the glass transition temperature, and increased the PLA chain mobility.

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In the latest years, researchers have been working to reduce the dependence on petroleum based fuels and products due to the increase in environmental consciousness. This leads to investigate the environmentally friendly sustainable materials in order to replace the existing ones. One of these polymeric materials is poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) which is a semi-crystalline, linear polymer belonging to the class of polyhydroxyalkanoates. It is fully biodegradable and biocompatible, and produced from renewable resources. Although having promising properties, PHB is unstable during processing at elevated temperatures causing thermal degradation that reduces its mechanical performance. The purpose of the present study was to develop and characterize new composite materials based on PHB and different percentage of cellulose fibers (from 2% to 10%), in order to improve PHB's physical mechanical behavior. In this respect, a series of physical-mechanical analyses (melt processing, optical properties, differential scanning calorimetry, water vapor permeability, etc.) were performed. The results obtained during this study show the most appropriate composition of the tested mixtures and demonstrate that the polymeric material based on PHB and cellulose fibers have good physical -mechanical characteristics, being suitable for packaging industry.