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PLA for Packaging Applications
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PLA for Packaging Applications

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Macromolecular Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 10653

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Alfonso Jimenez

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition & Food Sciences, University of Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig, ES-03690 Alicante, Spain
Interests: biopolymers; analytical methods; valorization; sustainable extraction methods; active food packaging
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Stefano Fiori

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Condensia Química S.A., R&D Department, C/La Cierva 8, 08184 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: plasticizers; bioadditives; biopolymers; biolubricants; polymer synthesis
Prof. Dr. María Carmen Garrigós

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition & Food Sciences, University of Alicante, San Vicente del Raspeig, ES-03690 Alicante, Spain
Interests: innovative biodegradable polymers; valorisation of agro-food wastes and by-products; encapsulation systems for bioactive compounds; food active packaging; natural antioxidants/antimicrobials; sustainable extraction methods
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

As petroleum-based materials edge upward in cost and the waste management of plastic products is appearing as one of the main problems for society in the 21st century, packaging made from renewable resources grows more and more appealing. In particular, poly(lactic acid), PLA, has become a major player in the biopolymers scenario through the excellent set of properties it offers for processing and use, while showing interesting end-of-life possibilities via composting or disintegration in soil. This Special Issue examines opportunities for PLA and derivatives as potential green alternatives to plastic commodities, covering many different approaches, such as design of packaging materials, packaging performance, innovative bio-based packaging materials, interactions with the packaged goods, physicochemical changes during storage, active films and coatings, and end-of-life scenarios.

Topics include but are not limited to:

  • Design and characterization of PLA-based packaging materials obtained from biogenic sources;
  • Synthesis and characterization of biodegradable coatings;
  • Multilayer matrices based on PLA;
  • Novel green processing technologies for PLA film formation;
  • Active packaging based on PLA derivatives;
  • Eco-friendly intelligent packaging materials based on PLA;
  • PLA nanocomposites applied to packaging;
  • Natural-based and nontoxic adhesives for packaging;
  • Additives migration to foodstuff: Experimental and theoretical approaches;
  • Stability of PLA-based biopackages during storage;
  • Sustainable end of life options for PLA packaging materials;
  • Insights into the future of the industry of PLA production;
  • Legislative issues. Perspectives.

The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight cutting-edge technologies in the field of PLA-based materials for packaging, including synthesis, modification. and functionalization of polymer matrices as well as extraction, isolation, and purification of chemicals with different functionalities to be used in this application. Reviews on future studies and perspectives and policy issues are also welcome. Authors are kindly invited to contact the guest editors to discuss their potential contributions to the Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Alfonso Jimenez
Dr. Stefano Fiori
Prof. María del Carmen Garrigós
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • PLA
  • Additives
  • Synthesis and polymerization
  • Processing
  • Applications in food packaging
  • PLA-based active materials
  • PLA nanocomposites

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4695 KiB  
Article
Compatibilization of Poly(Lactic Acid) (PLA)/Plasticized Cellulose Acetate Extruded Blends through the Addition of Reactively Extruded Comb Copolymers
by Maria-Beatrice Coltelli, Norma Mallegni, Sara Rizzo, Stefano Fiori, Francesca Signori and Andrea Lazzeri
Molecules 2021, 26(7), 2006; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26072006 - 01 Apr 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2218
Abstract
In the perspective of producing a rigid renewable and environmentally friendly rigid packaging material, two comb-like copolymers of cellulose acetate (AC) and oligo(lactic acid) OLA, feeding different percentages of oligo(lactic acid) segments, were prepared by chemical synthesis in solvent or reactive extrusion in [...] Read more.
In the perspective of producing a rigid renewable and environmentally friendly rigid packaging material, two comb-like copolymers of cellulose acetate (AC) and oligo(lactic acid) OLA, feeding different percentages of oligo(lactic acid) segments, were prepared by chemical synthesis in solvent or reactive extrusion in the melt, using a diepoxide as the coupling agent and were used as compatibilizers for poly(lactic acid)/plasticized cellulose acetate PLA/pAC blends. The blends were extruded at 230 °C or 197 °C and a similar compatibilizing behavior was observed for the different compatibilizers. The compatibilizer C1 containing 80 wt% of AC and 14 wt% of OLA resulted effective in compatibilization and it was easily obtained by reactive extrusion. Considering these results, different PLAX/pAC(100-X) compounds containing C1 as the compatibilizer were prepared by extrusion at 197 °C and tested in terms of their tensile and impact properties. Reference materials were the uncompatibilized corresponding blend (PLAX/pAC(100-X)) and the blend of PLA, at the same wt%, with C1. Significant increase in Young’s modulus and tensile strength were observed in the compatibilized blends, in dependence of their morphologic features, suggesting the achievement of an improved interfacial adhesion thanks to the occurred compatibilization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue PLA for Packaging Applications)
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19 pages, 5405 KiB  
Article
Improvement of Impact Strength of Polylactide Blends with a Thermoplastic Elastomer Compatibilized with Biobased Maleinized Linseed Oil for Applications in Rigid Packaging
by Ramon Tejada-Oliveros, Rafael Balart, Juan Ivorra-Martinez, Jaume Gomez-Caturla, Nestor Montanes and Luis Quiles-Carrillo
Molecules 2021, 26(1), 240; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26010240 - 05 Jan 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3157
Abstract
This research work reports the potential of maleinized linseed oil (MLO) as biobased compatibilizer in polylactide (PLA) and a thermoplastic elastomer, namely, polystyrene-b-(ethylene-ran-butylene)-b-styrene (SEBS) blends (PLA/SEBS), with improved impact strength for the packaging industry. The effects of [...] Read more.
This research work reports the potential of maleinized linseed oil (MLO) as biobased compatibilizer in polylactide (PLA) and a thermoplastic elastomer, namely, polystyrene-b-(ethylene-ran-butylene)-b-styrene (SEBS) blends (PLA/SEBS), with improved impact strength for the packaging industry. The effects of MLO are compared with a conventional polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-ran-butylene)-b-polystyrene-graft-maleic anhydride terpolymer (SEBS-g-MA) since it is widely used in these blends. Uncompatibilized and compatibilized PLA/SEBS blends can be manufactured by extrusion and then shaped into standard samples for further characterization by mechanical, thermal, morphological, dynamical-mechanical, wetting and colour standard tests. The obtained results indicate that the uncompatibilized PLA/SEBS blend containing 20 wt.% SEBS gives improved toughness (4.8 kJ/m2) compared to neat PLA (1.3 kJ/m2). Nevertheless, the same blend compatibilized with MLO leads to an increase in impact strength up to 6.1 kJ/m2, thus giving evidence of the potential of MLO to compete with other petroleum-derived compatibilizers to obtain tough PLA formulations. MLO also provides increased ductile properties, since neat PLA is a brittle polymer with an elongation at break of 7.4%, while its blend with 20 wt.% SEBS and MLO as compatibilizer offers an elongation at break of 50.2%, much higher than that provided by typical SEBS-g-MA compatibilizer (10.1%). MLO provides a slight decrease (about 3 °C lower) in the glass transition temperature (Tg) of the PLA-rich phase, thus showing some plasticization effects. Although MLO addition leads to some yellowing due to its intrinsic yellow colour, this can contribute to serving as a UV light barrier with interesting applications in the packaging industry. Therefore, MLO represents a cost-effective and sustainable solution to the use of conventional petroleum-derived compatibilizers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue PLA for Packaging Applications)
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20 pages, 4481 KiB  
Article
UV Protective, Antioxidant, Antibacterial and Compostable Polylactic Acid Composites Containing Pristine and Chemically Modified Lignin Nanoparticles
by Ema Cavallo, Xiaoyan He, Francesca Luzi, Franco Dominici, Patricia Cerrutti, Celina Bernal, Maria Laura Foresti, Luigi Torre and Debora Puglia
Molecules 2021, 26(1), 126; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26010126 - 29 Dec 2020
Cited by 55 | Viewed by 4595
Abstract
Polylactic acid (PLA) films containing 1 wt % and 3 wt % of lignin nanoparticles (pristine (LNP), chemically modified with citric acid (caLNP) and acetylated (aLNP)) were prepared by extrusion and characterized in terms of their overall performance as food packaging materials. Morphological, [...] Read more.
Polylactic acid (PLA) films containing 1 wt % and 3 wt % of lignin nanoparticles (pristine (LNP), chemically modified with citric acid (caLNP) and acetylated (aLNP)) were prepared by extrusion and characterized in terms of their overall performance as food packaging materials. Morphological, mechanical, thermal, UV–Vis barrier, antioxidant and antibacterial properties were assayed; appropriate migration values in food simulants and disintegration in simulated composting conditions were also verified. The results obtained indicated that all lignin nanoparticles succeeded in conferring UV-blocking, antioxidant and antibacterial properties to the PLA films, especially at the higher filler loadings assayed. Chemical modification of the fillers partially reduced the UV protection and the antioxidant properties of the resulting composites, but it induced better nanoparticles dispersion, reduced aggregates size, enhanced ductility and improved aesthetic quality of the films through reduction of the characteristic dark color of lignin. Migration tests and disintegration assays of the nanocomposites in simulated composting conditions indicated that, irrespectively of their formulation, the multifunctional nanocomposite films prepared behaved similarly to neat PLA. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue PLA for Packaging Applications)
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