Influence of sugarcane bagasse fibre on the properties of sweet lime peel- and polyvinyl alcohol-based biodegradable films

Abstract

Sugarcane bagasse is a readily available agro-waste, which can be found across the world and has been used in a wide range of applications. One of the applications is to use this waste as a reinforcing material in bio-based composites. The purpose of the present study was to develop a sweet lime peel powder (SLPP) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) based biodegradable film by incorporating fibre from sugarcane bagasse. The film forming solution was made using SLPP and PVOH (1 : 1) and sugarcane bagasse fibre (SBF) was added into the solution in varying proportions (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100 wt% of SLPP) and the biodegradable film was made using the casting method. The mechanical and barrier properties of the film samples were investigated. It was concluded that adding 25% fibre enhanced water vapor permeability (1.53 ± 0.03 10⁻⁷ g Pa⁻¹ h⁻¹ m⁻¹) along with improvement in the tensile strength (0.947 ± 0.446 MPa) and elongation at break (11.35 ± 0.009%) of the film compared with the film prepared without SBF. For solubility, the film with 100% SBF showed the least solubility (34.92 ± 0.50%) because of a higher percentage of fibre. The films with 50%, 75% and 100% showed less tensile strength and elongation at break because of the separation of the phase of fibre, SLPP and the PVOH matrix. SEM analysis revealed smooth SLPP and SBF dispersion throughout the film matrix as well. Several characteristic peaks of the functional groups were found in FTIR analysis. The incorporation of SBF in the SLPP based film forming solution improved the overall film properties making it ideal for food packaging applications.