Development and characterization of chemically modified corn starch films

OLIVIA V. LÓPEZ; MARÍA A. GARCÍA NOEMÍ E. ZARITZKY.

Santiago de Chile

Congreso; XXV Interamerican Congress of Chemical Engineering; 2011

Interamerican Confederation of Chemical Engineering

Biodegradable films from natural polymers are seems to be an alternative to conventional synthetic plastic materials. Native starch has received considerable attention because it is an appropriate matrix-forming material and is also the most commonly used agricultural commodity, relatively inexpensive with regard to other biopolymers . Unfortunately, this polymer has a hydrophilic nature which makes the obtained materials sensitive to the environmental humidity. In order to overcome this limitation, modified starches could be used to obtain biodegradable films. The aim of this work was to develop biodegradable films from acetylated corn starch plasticized with glycerol. The obtained materials were characterized by analyzing their microstructure, determining their water vapor permeability and studying their mechanical properties and thermo-mechanical behavior. Besides, the heat sealing capacity of the films was determined in order to use them to develop food packages.Results showed that acetylated corn starch is a viable alternative to obtain resistant but ductile films plasticized with 30% w/w glycerol, with adequate heat sealing properties allowing the development of biodegradable packages.