Published in Scientific Bulletin. Series F. Biotechnologies, Vol. XXV, Issue 1
Written by Roxana GHEORGHIŢĂ, Sonia AMARIEI, Gheorghe GUTT
Environmental pollution due to packaging waste requires solutions. Food supplements packaging is usually disposable and is obtained from materials difficult to sort and recycle. For this purpose, new materials were developed; entirely obtained from biopolymers, that can be used as packaging material for food supplements that require solubilisation before consumption. Thus, were developed eight films, with different compositions of agar, sodium alginate, and glycerol. The films were tested in order to evaluate physical and optical properties (thickness, retraction ratio, colour, transmittance or opacity), mechanical (tensile strength, elasticity), but also for the evaluation of humidity or rehydration capacity. The sample obtained from higher amounts of alginate and glycerol showed the best results and was completely solubilized in a very short time, in water, at a temperature of 35°C. For the safety of use and consumption, the films were microbiologically tested. No bacteria, yeasts or moulds developed on the culture media. All substances used are accepted in quantum statis doses. According to the results obtained, biopolymers have properties that can be successfully exploited in order to obtain zero-waste, eco-friendly, biodegradable and compostable packaging.
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