Screening of Cellulose/Alginate Biocomposites for Waterproof Food Packaging

Alginate based biofilms are widely used for designing edible food packaging while its application for developing inedible waterproof food packaging has not been studied enough. Both, cellulose fiber and alginate are attractive natural materials that could be used for developing natural fiber-based food packaging. In this research the cellulose/alginate biocomposites were produced by eco-friendly technique bi-layer lamination of prepared cellulose (C) fiber plates with sodium (SA) and calcium alginates (CA) containing glycerol as plasticizer. The morphology, moisture content, solubility in water, water vapor permeability (WVP), surface hydrophobicity and mechanical characteristics of prepared cellulose/alginates biocomposites were evaluated and compared. The biocomposite surface morphology evaluation showed that all analyzed samples had smooth surfaces without cracks. Moreover, obtained results showed that plasticizer is essential in developing biocomposites with improved characteristics. The concentration of glycerol had a positive effect on gloss, flexibility, moisture content, solubility in water and negative effect to surface hydrophobicity of C/SA and C/CA biocomposites. It was observed that samples had partly hydrophobic surfaces which contact angles varies from 37 degrees to 63 degrees. Mechanical characteristics revealed that the most promising are C/CA biocomposites that could be further modified for waterproof food packaging developing.