Materials and technologies – November 2021
Plastics
Chemists at the University of Konstanz have manufactured a new kind of polyethylene. They incorporated polar groups in the material’s molecular chains in order to expand its properties and simultaneously reduce the problematical persistence of plastic in the environment. The desired favourable properties of polyethylene remained unchanged. The results of this study have been published (abstract) in Science.
In an article (837 kB) published in Foods, FH Campus Wien researchers review recyclability and redesign challenges in multilayer flexible food packaging.
Bioplastics
NAIST researchers have discovered that the bacterium Ideonella sakaiensis can not only degrade PET but can also produce biodegradable plastics. The bacterium converts PET into PHB, a type of PHA plastic that is biodegradable. The findings (1.35 MB) are published in Scientific Reports.
PLA shows little sign of breakdown once in seawater. In a new study (2.14 MB) in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers set out to address this issue by incorporating RNA-inspired breaking points to the polymer.
In her thesis (abstract) at KTH, Secil Yilmaz Turan presents new materials developed from agricultural by-products. She developed films from cereal bran that have antioxidant properties and can be used as active food packaging films and coatings. In an article (431 kB) published during the 18th International Multidisciplinary Modeling & Simulation Multiconference, University of Parma researchers review the state of the art of compostable composite biopolymers from agricultural waste for food packaging.
Researchers at the National Research Centre have developed biodegradable films using extracted gelatin from the waste of fresh and grilled chicken skin. An article (790 kB) about the research is published in Research Square.
Food packaging
Taking inspiration from water repellent surfaces in nature, KAUST researchers have developed a simple surface treatment for traditional jute storage bags that prevents moisture-induced damage to stored grains. An article (3.2 MB) about the research is published in Scientific Reports.
In an article (1.74 MB) published in Foods, Université Mouloud Mammeri researchers give an overview of the potential uses, preparation, properties, and applications of nanoparticles to process and preserve fresh meat and processed meat products. In an article (691 kB) published in AIP Conference Proceedings, Kongu Engineering College researchers look at nanocellulose in food packaging applications.
In an article (432 kB) published in the Turkish Journal of Agriculture - Food Science and Technology, Manisa Celal Bayar University researchers give an overview of natural colour indicators and studies in which these indicators are used to determine the freshness of meat.
In an article (1.62 MB) published in Food Hydrocolloids, University of Santiago de Compostela researchers evaluate recent studies on active and/or intelligent chitosan-based films. The antimicrobial and antioxidant activity, as well as the potential application of these films are reviewed. In an article (2.14 MB) published in Biomolecules, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro researchers give a review the properties of chitosan and present a novel technology as an alternative to conventional chitin extraction.
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