Rheological, Physicochemical, Thermal, and Mechanical Properties of Biopolymeric Films Incorporated with Micro‐Holocellulose from Coffee Residues

Abstract

Biopolymeric materials have increased their uses and applications in the past years since more advanced preparations have been implemented to find the best formulation for a particular application. Holocellulose from spent coffee grounds (HOLO‐SCG) is a unique material with scarcely studied peculiarities. A detailed study of the flow behavior, microscopy, thermal, and local mechanical properties needs to be performed on biopolymeric films to open the understanding of polymer responsiveness, which is essential for the final design of the composites when fitting characteristics on macroscopic and microscopic scales are achieved. This manuscript aims to obtain biopolymer blends and films based on chitosan (CS) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and reinforced with micro HOLO‐SCG. It seeks to investigate their compatibility and physicochemical properties in liquid states by rheological measurements and solid states using physicochemical, thermal, and mechanical experiments. The results indicate that the prepared CS : PVA films reinforced with HOLO‐SCG under controlled size provide an excellent biopolymeric structure with enhanced thermal and mechanical properties, which brings a stable product to be used as an alternative plastic due to their noticeable lower wettability. The biopolymeric film could be introduced as a bio‐composite material in food packaging applications in further experiments.