Comparison of the Technical Performance of Leather, Artificial Leather, and Trendy Alternatives

The market for biogenic and synthetic alternatives to leather is increasing aiming to replace animal-based materials with vegan alternatives. In parallel, bio-based raw materials should be used instead of fossil-based synthetic raw materials. In this study, a shoe upper leather and an artificial leather, and nine alternative materials (Desserto®, Kombucha, Pinatex®, Noani®, Appleskin®, Vegea®, SnapPap®, Teak Leaf®, and Muskin®) were investigated. We aimed to compare the structure and technical performance of the materials, which allows an estimation of possible application areas. Structure and composition were characterized by microscopy and FTIR spectroscopy, the surface properties, mechanical performance, water vapor permeability, and water absorption by standardized physical tests. None of the leather alternatives showed the universal performance of leather. Nevertheless, some materials achieved high values in selected properties. It is speculated that the grown multilayer structure of leather with a very tight surface and a gradient of the structural density over the cross-section causes this universal performance. To date, this structure could neither be achieved with synthetic nor with bio-based materials.

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Upcycling of Vine Shoots: Production of Fillers for PHBV-Based Biocomposite Applications

Journal of Polymers and the Environment ◽

10.1007/s10924-020-01884-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Grégoire David ◽

Laurent Heux ◽

Stéphanie Pradeau ◽

Nathalie Gontard ◽

Hélène Angellier-Coussy

Keyword(s):

Water Vapor ◽

Gas Phase ◽

Mechanical Performance ◽

Low Cost ◽

Water Vapor Permeability ◽

Contact Angles ◽

Vapor Permeability ◽

Water Contact ◽

Median Diameter ◽

Cost Of Materials

Abstract This paper aims at investigating the potential of vine shoots (ViSh) upcycling as fillers in novel poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) based biocomposites. ViSh particles of around 50 µm (apparent median diameter) were obtained combining dry grinding processes, and mixed with PHBV using melt extrusion. Thermal stability and elongation at break of biocomposites were reduced with increasing contents of ViSh particles (10, 20 and 30 wt%), while Young’s modulus and water vapor permeability were increased. It was shown that a surface gas-phase esterification allowed to significantly increase the hydrophobicity of ViSh particles (increase of water contact angles from 59° to 114°), leading to a reduction of 27% in the water vapor permeability of the biocomposite filled with 30 wt% of ViSh. The overall mechanical performance was not impacted by gas-phase esterification, demonstrating that the interfacial adhesion between the virgin ViSh particles and the PHBV matrix was already good and that such filler surface treatment was not required in that case. It was concluded that ViSh particles can be interestingly used as low cost fillers in PHBV-based biocomposites to decrease the overall cost of materials.

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Optimizing Edible Film from Corn Cobs with Surface Response Method

E3S Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/e3sconf/202132808009 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 328 ◽

pp. 08009

Author(s):

Ni Ketut Sari ◽

Adelia Hayu Regita ◽

Dimas Wahyu Dwi Putra ◽

Dira Ernawati ◽

Widi Wurjani

Keyword(s):

Raw Materials ◽

Starch Content ◽

Water Vapor Permeability ◽

Edible Films ◽

Edible Film ◽

Vapor Permeability ◽

Corn Cob ◽

Corn Cobs ◽

Surface Response Method ◽

Response Method

The increase in plastic production worldwide has created quite a serious environmental problem. Edible film is an alternative packaging that can decompose naturally, one of the materials that can be used to make edible films is starch. This study aims to determine the composition of corn cob starch and plasticizers that can produce edible films with the best properties. The starch used is derived from corn cobs and the plasticizers used are glycerol and sorbitol. The edible film in this study was made by the casting method by dispersing the raw materials, heating the mixture, printing the edible film and drying the edible film. This research was conducted with variations in the corncob of 5, 6 and 7 in grams and the variation of the ratio of glycerol to sorbitol plasticizer is 2:8; 3:7; 5:5; 7:3; 8:2 (ml). The more starch content increases the thickness of the edible film and tensile strength, but the elongation and water vapor permeability decreases, the best edible film is obtained at the glycerol-sorbitol composition ratio of 5:5 with the amount of corncob starch of 7 grams.

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Films from Glyoxal-Crosslinked Spruce Galactoglucomannans Plasticized with Sorbitol

International Journal of Polymer Science ◽

10.1155/2012/482810 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 2012 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Kirsi S. Mikkonen ◽

Mari I. Heikkilä ◽

Stefan M. Willför ◽

Maija Tenkanen

Keyword(s):

Water Sorption ◽

Tensile Testing ◽

Oxygen Permeability ◽

Mechanical Performance ◽

Water Vapor Permeability ◽

Mechanical Analysis ◽

Vapor Permeability ◽

Elongation At Break ◽

Spruce Galactoglucomannans ◽

First Time

Films were prepared from a renewable and biodegradable forest biorefinery product, spruceO-acetyl-galactoglucomannans (GGMs), crosslinked with glyoxal. For the first time, cohesive and self-standing films were obtained from GGM without the addition of polyol plasticizer. In addition, glyoxal-crosslinked films were prepared using sorbitol at 10, 20, 30, and 40% (wt.-% of GGM). Glyoxal clearly strengthened the GGM matrix, as detected by tensile testing and dynamic mechanical analysis. The elongation at break of films slightly increased, and Young's modulus decreased with increasing sorbitol content. Interestingly, the tensile strength of films was constant with the increased plasticizer content. The effect of sorbitol on water sorption and water vapor permeability (WVP) depended on relative humidity (RH). At low RH, the addition of sorbitol significantly decreased the WVP of films. The glyoxal-crosslinked GGM films containing 20% sorbitol exhibited the lowest oxygen permeability (OP) and WVP of the studied films and showed satisfactory mechanical performance.

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Physical Properties of Banana Stem and Leaf Papers Laminated with Banana Film

Walailak Journal of Science and Technology (WJST) ◽

10.48048/wjst.2019.3471 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (10) ◽

pp. 753-763

Author(s):

Natcharee JIRUKKAKUL

Keyword(s):

Tensile Strength ◽

Physical Properties ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Water Vapor Permeability ◽

Vapor Permeability ◽

Packaging Materials ◽

Environment Impact ◽

Lamination Process ◽

Banana Flour ◽

Stems And Leaves

A sustainable development requires the use of bio-based packaging materials because of ready availability and limited environment impact. The porous structure and hydrophilic nature of cellulose in paper based materials needs to be combined or laminated with other materials to overcome these limitations. The fiber found in the banana stems and leaves, it is possible to use these raw materials in pulp processing and banana flour can be produced into an edible film. The aim of the study was to discover a suitable method (wet lamination or dry lamination) for producing paper (stems, leaves, or a 1:1 ratio of mixed stems and leaves) lamination with banana film and to study their physical properties for packaging application. Banana flour (4 %) solution was used as adhesive media between paper and film for wet lamination process where as the heating and compression were applied for dry lamination process. The results showed the efficiency of banana stems for paper production. However, there was an improvement in results when a 1:1 ratio of mixed stems and leaves was used due to an increase in tensile strength, elongation, and the L value. There was no significance in the water vapor permeability in all treatments. All treatments of paper lamination expressed 6 - 13 % moisture content. The separation of film and paper layers occurred in dry lamination samples. The wet lamination of the leaf paper and mixed paper caused high tensile strength and elongation. Therefore, it could be used as an alternative and environmentally friendly method in the application of packaging materials.

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Hybrid films from plant and bacterial nanocellulose: mechanical and barrier properties

Nordic Pulp & Paper Research Journal ◽

10.1515/npprj-2021-0036 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Thiago Moreira Cruz ◽

Adriano Reis Prazeres Mascarenhas ◽

Mário Vanoli Scatolino ◽

Douglas Lamounier Faria ◽

Lays Camila Matos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Mechanical Properties ◽

Water Vapor ◽

Mechanical Performance ◽

Cellulose Nanofibrils ◽

Water Vapor Permeability ◽

Barrier Properties ◽

Contact Angles ◽

Vapor Permeability ◽

Hybrid Films

Abstract The accumulation of petroleum polymers compromises biodiversity and causes environmental problems. Nanocellulose enhances biodegradability and can improve the physical-mechanical performance of materials. The objective was to produce and characterize hybrid films composed of bacterial cellulose (BC) and plant nanocellulose from Eucalyptus (Euc) or Pinus (Pin). Films were produced by the casting method using filmogenic suspensions with different cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) proportions from both the sources (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 %). CNFs suspensions were characterized by transmission electron microscopy. The morphology of the films was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy. In addition, the transparency, contact angle, wettability, oil and water vapor barrier and mechanical properties were also evaluated. The contact angles were smaller for films with BC and the wettability was greater when comparing BC with plant CNFs (0.10 ° s − 1 {\text{s}^{-1}} for 75 % Euc/25 % BC and 0.20 ° s − 1 {\text{s}^{-1}} for 25 % Euc/75 % BC). The water vapor permeability (WVP) of the 100 % BC films and the 25 % Euc/75 % BC composition were the highest among the studied compositions. Tensile strength, Young’s modulus and puncture strength decreased considerably with the addition of BC in the films. More studies regarding pre-treatments to purify BC are needed to improve the mechanical properties of the films.

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A New Approach for the Preparation of Bleached Shellac for Pharmaceutical Application: Solid Method

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.506.250 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 506 ◽

pp. 250-253 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

S. Saengsod ◽

S. Limmatvapirat ◽

Manee Luangtana-Anan

Keyword(s):

Fruits And Vegetables ◽

Color Change ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Water Vapor Permeability ◽

Acid Value ◽

Consumer Products ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Vapor Permeability ◽

Pharmaceutical Industries ◽

Bleached Shellac

With increased awareness about the environment, raw materials from petroleum based synthetics and the "green" quotient of consumer products have developed, shellac or shellac modified resins have gained importance due to their unique nontoxic and hypoallergenic properties. Shellac is water soluble, biologically degradable and has film forming, excellent adhesion, hardness, high gloss and superior in electrical properties. Shellac or shellac modified resins are also compatible with other resins and can be cross linked making them a wider applications. Shellac is abundant in Thailand, China and India, which produced from lac insects, Laccifer Lacca. The resinous secretion can be purified to become shellac. The main structure of shellac consists of polyesters and single esters that have hydroxyl and carboxyl groups [1, . Shellac was first used as a wood polish for music instruments and furniture and later for uses in spar varnishes with antifouling properties for ship paints, phonographic records, wood and wallpaper paints, printing inks, resins for electrical applications and floor polishes. Currently, new applications for using are such as child-safe paints and inks and the coating of fruits and vegetables, food and confectionary, pills, tablets and vitamins in the pharmaceutical industries. Bleached shellac has been widely used in pharmaceutical and cosmetics instead of native shellac due to the whiteness. However, conventional method for bleached shellac used many solvents [3, . Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore a new technique in order to avoid the use of organic solvent prior to the process of bleaching. The comparison was made between bleaching by the conventional and the new methods. The studied properties were acid value, viscosity, color change, water vapor permeability, chemical structure and powder x-ray diffraction.

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Elucidating the Relationship Between Structure and Property of Waterborne Polyurethane-Cellulose Nanocrystals Nanocomposite Films

Science of Advanced Materials ◽

10.1166/sam.2020.3767 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 1213-1224

Author(s):

Ya-Yu Li ◽

Wei-Wen Jing ◽

Jian-Hua Wang ◽

Jun-Fang Li

Keyword(s):

Water Vapor ◽

Cellulose Nanocrystals ◽

Food Packaging ◽

Mechanical Performance ◽

Water Vapor Permeability ◽

Waterborne Polyurethane ◽

Optical Transmittance ◽

Nanocomposite Films ◽

Vapor Permeability ◽

Casting Technique

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) are promising polymer reinforcements owning to their biocompatibility and high elastic modulus, low density, nano size, and inherent biocompatibility. The waterborne polyurethane-cellulose nanocrystals (WPU-CNCs) nanocomposite films were prepared using the conventional solvent casting technique over a whole composition. The mechanical performance, optical transmittance, amphiphilicity, water vapor permeability (WVP), and oxygen permeability (OP) of these WPU-CNCs films were evaluated. The incorporation of CNCs into WPU resulted in a significant enhancement of Young's modulus and tensile strength. The WVP of nanocomposite films had a lowest value at CNCs content of 50 wt.%. Upon the increase of CNCs content from 0 to 90 wt.%, the transmission path of oxygen molecular through the nanocomposite films became more tortuous, leading to drastic decrease in the OP. These WPU-CNCs nanocomposite films with high strength, optical transparency, water vapor and oxygen barrier properties have the potential applications in biomedical, furniture coating, and food packaging fields.

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Chitosan-based films reinforced with cellulose nanofibrils isolated from Euterpe oleraceae MART

Polymers from Renewable Resources ◽

10.1177/20412479211008747 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1-2) ◽

pp. 46-59

Author(s):

DG Braga ◽

PGF Bezerra ◽

ABFD Lima ◽

HA Pinheiro ◽

LG Gomes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tensile Strength ◽

Water Vapor ◽

Modulus Of Elasticity ◽

Water Solubility ◽

Mechanical Performance ◽

Cellulose Nanofibrils ◽

Water Vapor Permeability ◽

Vapor Permeability ◽

Water Vapor Absorption ◽

Bionanocomposite Films

The use of local raw materials for the production of biodegradable films can simultaneously contribute to the development of the Amazon and global sustainability. This work aimed to evaluate the physical and mechanical performance of chitosan-based bionanocomposite films reinforced with different loads of cellulose nanofibrils obtained from açaí ( Euterpe oleraceae Mart.) under two nanofibrillation degrees. Nanofibrils were obtained by 3 and 21 passages in a grinder defibrillator. The films were produced by casting with nanofibril reinforcement at 5 wt.%, 10 wt.%, 15 wt.%, and 20 wt.%. The increase in the nanofibril level and nanofibrillation degree reduced water vapor absorption (75.20% to 51.93%), water solubility (28.33% to 17.91%), and density (0.87 g.cm−3 to 0.61 g.cm−3). The water vapor permeability decreased with higher nanofibril loads for both 3-pass (47.30% to 43.61%) and 21-pass (49.82% to 44.48%) reinforced films, but not with nanofibrillation degree. The increase in 3-pass nanofibril level decreased tensile strength (8.18 MPa to 7.88 MPa), modulus of elasticity (867.62 MPa to 670.02 MPa) and elongation at break (0.02 mm.mm−1 to 0.01 mm.mm−1). However, the opposite effect happened to 21-pass nanofibrils, with increases from 9.16 MPa to 9.73 MPa and from 502.00 MPa to 1119.62 MPa for tensile strength and modulus of elasticity, respectively. Meanwhile, the maximum elongation at rupture did not vary. It was concluded that chitosan-based bionanocomposite films reinforced with 20 wt.% of 21-pass nanofibril were more resistant, except for water vapor permeability. Adding coarser nanofibrils enhanced this property. The 3-pass nanofibrils reinforcement enables water solubility, which benefits other packaging applications.

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Can Sustainable Packaging Help to Reduce Food Waste? A Status Quo Focusing Plant-Derived Polymers and Additives

Applied Sciences ◽

10.3390/app11115307 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (11) ◽

pp. 5307

Author(s):

Imke Korte ◽

Judith Kreyenschmidt ◽

Joana Wensing ◽

Stefanie Bröring ◽

Jan Niklas Frase ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Shelf Life ◽

Food Waste ◽

Renewable Resources ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Water Vapor Permeability ◽

Status Quo ◽

Vapor Permeability ◽

Political Strategy ◽

Biomass Waste ◽

Sustainable Packaging

The promotion of sustainable packaging is part of the European Green Deal and plays a key role in the EU’s social and political strategy. One option is the use of renewable resources and biomass waste as raw materials for polymer production. Lignocellulose biomass from annual and perennial industrial crops and agricultural residues are a major source of polysaccharides, proteins, and lignin and can also be used to obtain plant-based extracts and essential oils. Therefore, these biomasses are considered as potential substitute for fossil-based resources. Here, the status quo of bio-based polymers is discussed and evaluated in terms of properties related to packaging applications such as gas and water vapor permeability as well as mechanical properties. So far, their practical use is still restricted due to lower performance in fundamental packaging functions that directly influence food quality and safety, the length of shelf life, and thus the amount of food waste. Besides bio-based polymers, this review focuses on plant extracts as active packaging agents. Incorporating extracts of herbs, flowers, trees, and their fruits is inevitable to achieve desired material properties that are capable to prolong the food shelf life. Finally, the adoption potential of packaging based on polymers from renewable resources is discussed from a bioeconomy perspective.

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Influence of Ammonium Zirconium Carbonate on Properties of Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Xylan Composite Films

Journal of Nanomaterials ◽

10.1155/2015/810464 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xiao-feng Chen ◽

Jun-li Ren ◽

Ling Meng

Keyword(s):

Mechanical Properties ◽

Thermal Stability ◽

Vinyl Alcohol ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Raw Materials ◽

Composite Films ◽

Water Vapor Permeability ◽

Poly Vinyl Alcohol ◽

Vapor Permeability ◽

Ammonium Zirconium Carbonate

A series of composite films were prepared using poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and xylan as degradable raw materials under the addition of glycerol and ammonium zirconium carbonate (AZC). The influences of AZC on the mechanical properties, water-resisting properties, thermal stability, solubility (S), and water vapor permeability of PVA/xylan composite films were comparatively discussed. The results showed that AZC had a positive impact on improving the water resistance and mechanical properties of composite films especially for elongation at break (EAB). With increasing the AZC amounts from 0% to 15%, EAB increased rapidly from 18.5% to 218.0%, and theSvalues decrease from 11.64% to 8.64%. When the AZC amount reached 15%, the tensile strength still performed well (22.10 MPa). The great compatibility of components in composite films was also observed. Moreover, the addition of AZC had great influences on the thermal stability of composite films and the degradation in soil.

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