Thermal and mechanical properties of biocomposites in polylactic acid and food flour waste

Abstract

The growing demand for food products linked to the continuous increase of the world population is unfortunately also responsible for the accumulation of huge amounts of waste often destined for incineration or disposal in landfills, representing an intolerable threat to our society in terms of environmental impact and health risks. This work aims to enhance the reuse potential of waste deriving from the process of food flours in new composite formulations based on polylactic acid and theoretically applicable in the food (packaging) and agricultural fields Samples containing up to 5% by weight of food flour waste supplied by a local pasta factory were prepared by melt compounding and analyzed both in terms of thermal and mechanical properties but also from the morphological point of view. The experimental work showed that the inclusion of food waste powders modifies the crystalline structure of the matrix making it more rigid but less tenacious with non-monotonous effects on the range of compositions explored and results are supported by morphological analysis. Among other things, the absence of interfacial adhesion affects the filler dispersion, with a consequent inversion of the trend of the mechanical parameters in tensile and bending, especially for the formulation filled with 5 wt% of food flour wastes. Further experiments are in progress to improve the polymeric formulations identified and contribute to the advancement of current knowledge regarding food waste management.