Production of Pectin-Cellulose Biofilms: A New Approach for Citrus Waste Recycling

Abstract EN

While citrus waste is abundantly generated, the disposal methods used today remain unsatisfactory: they can be deleterious for ruminants, can cause soil salinity, or are not economically feasible; yet citrus waste consists of various valuable polymers.

This paper introduces a novel environmentally safe approach that utilizes citrus waste polymers as a biobased and biodegradable film, for example, for food packaging.

Orange waste has been investigated for biofilm production, using the gelling ability of pectin and the strength of cellulosic fibres.

A casting method was used to form a film from the previously washed, dried, and milled orange waste.

Two film-drying methods, a laboratory oven and an incubator shaker, were compared.

FE-SEM images confirmed a smoother film morphology when the incubator shaker was used for drying.

The tensile strength of the films was 31.67 ± 4.21 and 34.76 ± 2.64 MPa, respectively, for the oven-dried and incubator-dried films, which is within the range of different commodity plastics.

Additionally, biodegradability of the films was confirmed under anaerobic conditions.

Films showed an opaque appearance with yellowish colour.