Famiglietti, Michela (2024) Production and characterization of novel active polysaccharides/proteins blended bioplastics. [Tesi di dottorato]

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Abstract

Petroleum-based plastics have become the workhorse material of the modern economy, because of their unrivaled functional properties and their low cost. In the last century, their use has increased twenty-fold and become ubiquitous. Besides delivering many benefits, plastics of petrochemical origin are causing escalating damage to the natural environment and human health. The same properties that make plastics adapted to innumerable applications, such as durability and resistance, make these materials difficult to assimilate from the environment. Thus, strategies to reduce plastic pollution should include the replacement of petrol-based plastics and additives known to be harmful by biobased and biodegradable materials, and by environmentally friendly components, together with the reduction of consumption and the increase of recycling. Biopolymers are ideal candidates to replace plastics of petrochemical origin, but they also present some limitations like high manufacturing cost and low mechanical tendency. In this scenario, the present thesis aims to contribute to developing novel bioplastics obtained from different renewable sources. The work focused on exploiting polysaccharides, like chitosan and amylose, and proteins, specifically derived from byproducts. The whole investigation works towards the improvement of such kinds of raw materials, blending them, modifying their structures, and adding active compounds and fillers to overcome their drawbacks like poor strength, water sensitivity, and low thermal stability. Moreover, the degradation of some of these novel bioplastics was investigated through the soil burial test to confirm their biodegradable nature. The last part of the experimental work was carried out at the Department of Analytical Chemistry of the Complutense University of Madrid, where magnetic nanoparticles were produced and functionalized to be mixed as nanofillers into bioplastics and enhance their properties.

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