Thursday, August 12, 2010

Biodegradable Plastics Made from Agricultural Biopolymers

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/bk-1994-0575.ch006

Abstract

Biopolymers (e.g., starch, protein, and cellulose) from various agricultural sources have been investigated for manufacturing biodegradable plastics. Cross-linking of starch and zein mixtures and of soy proteins have shown that the tensile strength and water resistance of the plastics can be increased. Plastics made from dialdehyde starch and zein mixtures displayed particularly improved water resistance. Cereal flours are economically competitive materials for the plastics. With proper processing, both soy isolate and soy concentrate displayed positive properties for extrusion and injection molding of the plastics. Cellulose fibers can be used as extenders in the plastics to improve tensile strength and water resistance.

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