EVALUATION OF STARCH/WHEY PROTEIN ISOLATE BLENDS BY DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS: STUDY OF THERMAL AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND MELT FLOW INDEX

• Grant number: 25/16331-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2025
• End date: October 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Marina Fernandes Cosate de Andrade
• Grantee: Lívia Ramos Afonso
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia Química (FEQ). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Bioeconomy is based on the integration of agricultural and industrial sectors using natural polymers from renewable sources. Natural polymers represent great potential in the materials field as an alternative to fossil-based polymers.This project proposes the study of the preparation of thermoplastic starch/whey protein blend films using the plasticizer polyethylene glycol (PEG) for subsequent application in food packaging. The blend preparation will be evaluated by a Design of Experiments (DOE) with two levels and two factors: plasticizer content and starch/protein ratio. The materials produced will be characterized by thermal transitions using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), mechanical properties by tensile testing, and melt flow index. The responses to be studied in the DOE will be glass transition temperature, tensile strength at break, and melt flow index.