Reactive Extrusion for the Production of Starch-Based Biopackaging.

GUTIÉRREZ, TOMY J.; GUARÁS, M.P.; ALVAREZ VERA

Biopackaging

CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group

Año: 2017; p. 1 - 50

Current and future trends are directed towards the production of polymeric materials that are environmentally friendly. Reactive extrusion (REx) is currently the most efficient and economical way for producing eco-friendly plastics from starch, as it combines the versatility of today?s industrial processes with polymer science and technology. In addition, the chemical reactions such as polymerization, grafting, branching and functionalization that occur during REx do not need solvents for their processing. This gives REx the advantage over other processes since energy consumption required for the evaporation of solvents is eliminated. In addition, this technology enables the compatibilization of synthetic polymers from the petrochemical industry with many naturally incompatible biopolymers, resulting in the production of improved TPS materials with higher rates of biodegradability