Soy Protein- and Starch-Based Green Composites/Nanocomposites: Preparation, Properties, and Applications

Abstract

With the environmental appeal around the planet for a sustainable development, there is the need to develop new materials from renewable resources, which can be degraded in a short time in the environment, thereby maintaining the proper balance of the carbon cycle. Biopolymers from various natural botanical resources can act as a substitute for petroleum-based synthetic polymers because of their low cost, ease of availability, and biodegradability along with other organic wastes to soil humic materials. Materials which are biodegradable and fully sustainable are termed as "Green Composites". This development not only solves the white pollution problem but also stops the overdependence on petroleum products. Development of Green Composites made from soy protein and starch has been a great challenge for the scientific community, since these materials do not possess all the desirable characteristics of the synthetic polymers, being mostly often, highly hydrophilic and also presenting poor mechanical properties to be used as engineering's materials. Cellulose macro-and nano-fibers can be used as reinforcement in composite materials to enhance mechanical, thermal, and biodegradation properties of the composites. In this chapter we will be dealing mainly with the preparation, properties, and applications of cellulose fiber-reinforced green composites based on soy protein and starch.

Recent Advances in Green Composites and Their Applications

“…Nevertheless, sporting equipment applications to date have involved either the use of hybrid composites (natural and synthetic fibers combined) and/or non-biodegradable matrix polymers, negating one of the material's principal benefitsbiodegradability. For instance, snowboards were strengthened with flax [80] and carbon-reinforced tennis rackets, [81] frames of bikes were reinforced with flax and carbon. [82] The flax fibers provide improved performance in such applications as they offer superior damping vibrations.…”

“…[82] The flax fibers provide improved performance in such applications as they offer superior damping vibrations. This property leads to a better performance in navigating and moving snowboards that can handle rough terrain, [80] tennis rackets that provide extra support and comfort when the ball strikes the racket, [81] and bikes that withstand micron shocks for better comfort. [82]…”

Control of seed born mycobiota associated with Glycine max L. Merr. seeds by a combination of traditional medicinal plants extracts

“…Its high protein, starch, and oil content (Dhungana et al, 2017). Recently, soy protein has been considered a green and renewable substitute for petroleum or animal-derived polymers in biomedical applications (Koshy et al, 2015;Lligadas et al, 2013). Soybean production accounts for approximately 6% of arable land worldwide.…”

Effect of cellulosic fiber scale on linear and non-linear mechanical performance of starch-based composites

“…The vast majority of plastic products are made from petroleum 3 based synthetic polymers that don't degrade in landfills or in a compost-like environment [1]. Biopolymers from various natural botanical resources can act as a substitute for petroleum-based synthetic polymers because of their low cost, ease of availability, and biodegradability along with other organic wastes to soil humic materials [2]. Starch which was previously used as a thickening, stiffening, or gluing agent after dissolving in warm water [3], is now considered as a promising material for the production of biodegradable packaging plastics [4] .…”