New bio-based plastics, from a non-edible plant oil side-stream, for film extrusion

• Renewable sourced PET, PA, PE, starch blends, etc, are fastly growing due to the processability and final performance, that is similar to their petroleum derived options. A bit in the shadow of the development of these plastics, development is ongoing on another group of plastics, made directly of the side-streams of agricultural products: oil plant residues and proteins. They can be used in edible applications but not all of them are suitable for food or forage. Industrial oilseed meal from crambe abyssinica contains relatively high levels of protein that is not suitable for human or animal consumption due to the presence of anti-nutritional compounds. This paper presents research on crambe meal as a base for new plastics, developed to extrude continuous, flexible plastic films based on crambe meal, blended with vital wheat gluten as an elastic component and urea as a protein denaturant. The effect of process parameters, such as screw speed, die temperature and pressure, and the effect of components were studied with regards to the final performance of the film extrudates. E.g. mechanical properties, oxygen permeability and moisture content were determined and surface and cross-section morphologies were examined with electron microscopy. The results showed that crambe-based blends can be extruded as continuous, flexible plastic films, which exhibit barrier properties towards oxygen. Recipes and methods for pelletizing of master batches for post-converting (e.g. extrusion or compression molding) were successfully developed. Addition of a renewable plasticizer improved the extrusion performance and resulted in less hygroscopic films, which further showed the overall highest tensile strength while the extensibility was nearly unaffected. The results provide a first basis to further develop the process and the blend towards potential industrial applications, for example as packaging materials to trays, pots and similar type of packages.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Textil-, gummi- och polymermaterial (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Textile, Rubber and Polymeric Materials (hsv//eng)

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik -- Annan materialteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering -- Other Materials Engineering (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Crambe

Extrusion

Oxygen barrier

Renewable plastics

Wheat gluten

Agricultural products

Commerce

Compression molding

Elastomers

Extrusion molding

International trade

Mechanical permeability

Oils and fats

Oxygen

Packaging materials

Plastic films

Plastic products

Plastics

Polymer blends

Proteins

Tensile strength

Urea

Barrier properties

Cross-section morphology

Oxygen barriers

Oxygen permeability

Process parameters

Protein denaturant

Packaging

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)