Iranian Journal of Wood and Paper Industries

Iranian Journal of Wood and Paper Industries

Investigating the effect of glycerol and polyvinyl alcohol in the production of antibacterial films from nanocrystals cellulose

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Ali Rahgozar 1
Elyas Afra 2
Mohammad Reza Dehghani Firouzabadi 3
1 Department of paper science and engineering, Faculty of Wood and Paper Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, I.R. Iran
2 Department of paper science and engineering, Faculty of Wood and Paper Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan. Iran
3 Department of Paper Science and Engineering, Faculty of Wood and Paper Engineering, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, I.R. Iran
10.22034/ijwp.2025.2050416.1696
Abstract
Problem definition and objectives: Today, a significant share of food packaging is related to petroleum-based plastics, but are non-biodegradable materials. Biodegradable polymers, although they are biocompatible, but they cannot be widely used in the packaging industry due to their high production cost and poor resistance and barrier properties. Among the biodegradable polysaccharides, cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer on earth, which can be easily changed and modified. Nanocrystalline cellulose (CNC) has been more limited in the development of food packaging due to the formation of brittle films compared to other nanocellulosic materials. The use of some materials such as plasticizers, crosslinking agents, and antimicrobial agents in the structure of these films can enable their wide applicability. Therefore, in this study, with the aim of achieving CNC-based films with optimal barrier and resistance properties that can be used in the packaging industry, the effects of two plasticizers, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and glycerol (Gly), the crosslinking agent citric acid and pomegranate peel extract (PPE) as antimicrobial agents were investigated in two combined and layer-by-layer methods.
Methodology: For this purpose, CNC-based films were prepared in combination with 20% by weight of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or glycerol (Gly), a 1:1 ratio of citric acid: CNC, and 3 levels of 1, 2, and 4% PPE relative to the base composition, by two combined and layer-by-layer (LBL) methods. The structural properties of the films were investigated using FTIR analysis and FESEM images. The barrier, physical, and mechanical properties of the prepared films were also investigated.
Results: FTIR results showed that significant chemical bonds were formed between the components of the films. In the antimicrobial results, it was found that the films had significant antimicrobial activity, in the combined method this effect was stronger on both gram-negative Escherichia coli and gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, but in the LBL method this antimicrobial effect was longer. The results showed that CNC composite films with citric acid crosslinking agent, PVA plasticizer and 2% and 4% PPE showed better water vapor transmission rate, water absorption, moisture content, elastic modulus and antibacterial effect than other films, and Gly presented poorer performance in CNC films. Except for the elastic modulus and longer antimicrobial performance, other properties were weaker in the LBL method than in the combined method.
Conclusion: Based on the results obtained, taking into account the physical and mechanical properties of the films as well as the production cost of these materials, and considering that most of the differences between the CNC/PVA/2%PPE and CNC/PVA/4%PPE films were in the same statistical group, films made from the CNC/PVA/2%PPE combination, which has a lower cost due to the lower content of pomegranate peel extract, are introduced as a suitable option for replacing plastic in food packaging requiring antimicrobial properties.
Keywords
Nanocrystallinecellulose
biodegradablefilm
glycerol
polyvinylalcohol
pomegranatepeelextract
antibacterialfilm

Subjects

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Iranian Journal of Wood and Paper Industries
Volume 16, Issue 1
Winter 2025
Pages 89-107