Porous Thermoformed Protein Bioblends as Degradable Absorbent Alternatives in Sanitary MaterialsShow others and affiliations
2023 (English)In: ACS Applied Polymer Materials, E-ISSN 2637-6105, Vol. 5, no 9, p. 6976-6989Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Protein-based porous absorbent structures can be processed and assembled into configurations suitable for single-use, biodegradable sanitary materials. In this work, a formulation based on a mixture of proteins available as industrial coproducts is processed into continuous porous structures using extrusion and assembled using conventional thermal methods. The experimental design led to formulations solely based on zein-gluten protein bioblends that could be manufactured as liquid absorbent pellets, compressed pads, and/or porous films. The processing versatility is attributed to the synergistic effect of zein as a low viscosity thermoformable protein with gluten as a readily cross-linkable high molecular weight protein. The capillary-driven sorption, the biodegradability of the materials, and the possibility to assemble the products as multilayer components provide excellent performance indicators for their use as microplastic-free absorbents. This work shows the potential of biopolymers for manufacturing sustainable alternatives to current nonbiodegradable and highly polluting disposable items such as pads and diapers.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
American Chemical Society (ACS) , 2023. Vol. 5, no 9, p. 6976-6989
Keywords [en]
bioblends, biodegradability, porous materials, protein absorbents, sanitary materials, sustainable materials
National Category
Polymer Chemistry
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-338491DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.3c01027ISI: 001063596700001PubMedID: 37705711Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85170207459OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-338491DiVA, id: diva2:1812144
Note
QC 20231115
2023-11-152023-11-152023-11-15Bibliographically approved