Extraction of cellulose and hemicellulose from agro waste residues and evaluating their reinforcement effect as nanoparticles in starch films for food packaging applications

Abstract

Escalating environmental concerns associated with the usage of plastic newlinehas led to a gradual decrease in the application of chemically synthesized polymers newlineto create a safe and sustainable environment. The majority of the synthetic plastic newlineproduced is utilized by the food packaging industry for packing and storing a variety newlineof food products. Most of these foods packed are for immediate consumption and newlinethe plastic packages are discarded, generating an enormous solid waste that is nondegradable. newlineBiodegradable polymers are a better replacement for synthetic plastics newlineand can be considered a milestone in preventing global damage. Usage of starchbased newlinematerial is a convenient and economical approach, due to its low cost, newlineavailability and biodegradability. However, starch being brittle with high newlinepermeation to water is a major setback. Though the addition of synthetic nanofillers newlineas reinforcement has overcome the drawback, on its disposal these synthetic newlinenanofillers only disintegrate and contaminate the environment. To overcome this, newlinenatural-based organic fillers can be used to enhance the properties of the composite newlinewhile promising a significant reduction in environmental impact by preserving newlinebiodegradability. Lignocellulosic biomass is a good bioresource for various newlineapplications. In the last two decades, researches are focused on lignocellulosic newlinecomponents which are largely present in agricultural waste residues. Nanoparticles newlineproduced from lignocellulosic biomass present in agricultural waste residues is newlinesignificant as they are eco-friendly and serve as an alternative to unrenewable newlinepetroleum resources. Cellulose extracted from agricultural waste residues, promises newlinewide application in a number of fields, but so far no substantial effort has been made newlineto extract and utilize hemicellulose along with the cellulose. Extraction of newlinehemicellulose along with cellulose is difficult due to the strong linkage of lignin newlinewith the hemicellulose moiety. newline