Production and application of bio-based plastics processed by 3D-printing and extrusion technologies

• Grant number: 21/09019-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: September 01, 2021
• End date: August 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Food Science and Technology - Food Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Carmen Cecilia Tadini
• Grantee: Jefferson Lopes Alves
• Host Institution: Escola Politécnica (EP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07914-8 - FoRC - Food Research Center, AP.CEPID

Abstract

Starch-based packaging has been used as an alternative to conventional plastics. However, the former material shows a poorer performance when compared with the latter. Carbohydrate nanomaterials addition has proved to be promising to solve this issue, improving mechanical and barrier properties. The use of carbohydrates nanomaterials has many advantages since the raw material is highly available in nature, obtained from renewable, low-cost, and non-toxic sources. There are many possibilities to enhance the starch-based materials: the modification of starch molecules by ozone, DHT, HMT, ultrasound, irradiation, crosslinking, among others, is a promising technological route.Indeed, different techniques to obtain the matrices, with different plasticizers and/or reinforcers can be applied to obtain the bioplastics. In the last years, our research group is working to make feasible the production of these materials at a pilot-plant scale and to transfer the technology to the industrial sector. (AU)