The Potential of NanoCellulose in the Packaging Field: A Review

Abstract

Nanocellulose has potential applications across several industrial sectors and allows the development of innovative materials, as well as the enhancement of conventional materials properties. The nanocellulose particles can be utilized as fillers, in composites manufacture, as coating and as self‐standing thin films, achieving always very interesting and promising properties. Very few of the several reviews that recently appeared on this topic in the scientific literature, however, summarized the potential of cellulose in nanoform specifically for the packaging field rather focusing on different aspects, ranging from the chemistry and the morphology of nanocellulose particles to the preparation methods, the industrial applications and the patents released. In the present review, the remarkable chemical and physical properties of nanocellulose are introduced and discussed with specific reference to the packaging needs. First, the cellulose resources and structure are introduced, then the process methods to reach the nanoscale, the corresponding morphologies and nomenclatures are summarized, mentioning also the possible chemical modifications of nanocellulose and, finally, its practical and potential applications for packaging materials, especially food packaging materials, are tentatively proposed and discussed. Although the review might not cover every aspect on nanocellulose, yet the key points, particularly those related to safety and biodegradability issues, are regarded and considered. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comparison of cellulose nanocrystals obtained by sulfuric acid hydrolysis and ammonium persulfate, to be used as coating on flexible food-packaging materials

“…We look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience. Cellulose, the most abundant natural polymer on the earth, can potentially become 54 a widely used renewable nanomaterial for various applications in both its forms: 55 cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) (Li et al 2015; 56 Dufresne 2012). Two main approaches are commonly used for obtaining cellulose 57 nano-particles: mechanical treatments and acid hydrolysis, being the last the 58 classical method for CNCs production.…”

Nanocellulose in Thin Films, Coatings, and Plies for Packaging Applications: A Review

“…Research related to the use of nanocellulose in packaging applications also has been reviewed (Turbak et al 1983;Dufresne 2008 Azeredo 2009; Eichhorn et al 2009;Oksman et al 2009;Habibi et al 2010;Siqueira et al 2010;Siro and Plackett 2010;Moon et al 2011;Olsson et al 2011;Petersen and Gatenholm 2011; Faruck et al 2012;Huber et al 2012;Khalil et al 2012Khalil et al , 2014Lavoine et al 2012;Freire et al 2013;Lopacka 2013; Paunonen 2013a,b;Sandquist 2013;Cowie et al 2014;Khan et al 2014a;Tammelin and Vartiainen 2014;Mihindukulasuriya and Lim 2014; Azizi Samir et al. 2015;Hannon et al 2015;Li et al 2015a;Simao et al 2015;Gomez et al 2016;Khalil et al 2016). In particular, Lindström and Aulin (2014) reviewed research progress up to 2014, emphasizing some of the key unmet issues that are likely to continue to slow down progress in production-scale implementation of nanocellulose in packaging.…”

“…Secondly, the tiny dimensions of nanocellulose imply a high exposure to its surroundings. The issue of biodegradation has been emphasized in studies in which nanocellulose was used in composite structures with other natural film-forming materials (Lu et al 2008;Ma et al 2008;Cheng et al 2009;Wan et al 2009; Azeredo et al 2010;Bras et al 2010;Khan et al 2010Khan et al , 2012Khan et al , 2014bSiro and Plackett 2010;da Silva et al 2012;Hassan et al 2012;Johnsy and Siddaramaiah 2012;Tang et al 2012; Baheti and Militky 2013; ChingaCarrasco et al 2013;Ollier et al 2013; Bhardwaj et al 2014;Dehnad et al 2014a;Fortunati et al 2014;Ghaderi et al 2014;Khalil et al 2014;Kumar et al 2014;Marais et al 2014;Reddy and Rhim 2014;Song et al 2014;Yang et al 2014; Azizi Samir et al 2015; Feng et al 2015a;Figueiredo et al 2015;Honorato et al 2015;Lavoine et al 2015;Li et al 2015a;Lu et al 2015; Youssef et al REVIEW ARTICLE bioresources.com . "Nanocellulose in packaging," BioResources 12(1), 2143-2233.…”

Aqueous morpholine pre-treatment in cellulose nanofibril (CNF) production: comparison with carboxymethylation and TEMPO oxidisation pre-treatment methods

“…CNF can be derived from cellulose fibres by a combination of mechanical, enzymatic, and chemical pre-treatment steps prior to mechanical processing (Nechyporchuk et al 2016a). There has been considerable industrial and research interest in the use of CNF in a wide range of applications, such as in biomedicine (Guise and Fangueiro 2016;Lin and Dufresne 2014), automotive exteriors and interiors (Faruk et al 2014), packaging materials (Ferrer et al 2017;Li et al 2015) and electronic devices (Du et al 2017;Shi et al 2013). This wide usage arises because of their renewability, biocompatibility and biodegradation potentials coupled with improved mechanical strength, lightweight properties, optical properties, barrier properties and structuring capabilities (Abdul Khalil et al 2014;Bharimalla et al 2015;Jonoobi et al 2015;Klemm et al 2011;Lavoine et al 2012;Siró and Plackett 2010).…”