BIODEGRADABILITY ASSESSMENT OF NEW BIOPLASTIC MATERIAL MADE FROM WHEY PROTEIN

M. L. BURDISSO; L. M. SALVATIERRA; R. M. GIORDANO; L. M. PÉREZ

Buenos Aires

Workshop; BioPoli 2015. II Workshop on Biodegradable Polymers and Biocomposites & III Workshop BIOPURFIL, Bio-based Polyurethane Composites with Natural Fillers; 2015

Instituto de Tecnología en Polímeros y Nanotecnologia (ITPN-UBA, CONICET); Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (INTEMA-CONICET))

Biodegradable polymers derived from natural resources have attracted lots of attention since these materials are considered as a potential substitute for existing petroleum-based synthetic polymers [1]. Especially in the packaging field, the development of biodegradable plastic materials could not only ease the solid waste contamination problem but, in some cases, also provide new applications for industrial by-products [2]. Cheese whey is the most important pollutant in dairy wastewaters [3]. Several studies have been published on the use of whey protein for development of packaging films or wrapping materials by casting with very promising results [4]. But little is done in order to obtain more solid biodegradable materials made from whey by using technologies frequently adopted at the plastic industry.