Assessment of the Morphology and Interaction of PHBV/Clay Bionanocomposites: Uses as Food Packaging

Abstract

The production of plastic waste has caused serious environmental impacts. Since the conventional polymers represent one of the largest percentages of waste, a possible solution for this environmental problem is the use of nanoclaybiopolymers for the preparation of food packaging. The objective of this study was to evaluate the morphological structure of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) bionanocomposites and vermiculite through scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and to verify their packaging/food interaction through the total migration test. The systems were prepared with natural clay and organophilic clay by melt intercalation technique. The migration test was carried out according to the Resolution 105/99 by ANVISA. The SEM micrographs showed a small number of agglomerates for the natural systems and a more uniform structure for the organophilic systems. The migration results of all systems were within the maximum allowable limit for food packages, indicating a possible use of these materials without causing damage to food security.

Copolymers and Blends Based on 3-Hydroxybutyrate and 3-Hydroxyvalerate Units

“…Both montmorillonite and halloysite clay minerals underwent modification to improve compatibility between the organic and inorganic phases. Cristino da Costa Reis et al [122] further evaluated the morphology and interaction of PHBV/clay bionanocomposites for packaging applications. The barrier properties of PHBV/clay were investigated by Crétois et al [123], using organoclay montmorillonite to improve the barrier properties of PHBV.…”

Desarrollo y caracterización de formulaciones poliméricas biodegradables y termoconformables para envasado

“…En el caso de los polímeros biodegradables, los nanocompuestos pueden mejorar el comportamiento en los aspectos donde los polímeros derivados del petróleo aún son superiores [129][130][131]. Ha sido ampliamente reportada la mejora de las propiedades mecánicas, la estabilidad térmica y las propiedades barrera a gases, aromas y vapor de agua de matrices de biopolímeros por la adición de pequeñas fracciones volumétricas de nanopartículas, tales como, nanotubos de carbono [132][133][134], bentonitas [20,135], nanotubos de haloisita [136][137][138][139], montmorillonitas [136,[139][140][141][142][143], agujas de sepiolita [144][145][146][147][148], vermiculita [149] y nanocelulosa [150][151][152][153], entre otros.…”