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Applied Sciences
Special Issues
Applications and Development of Bioplastics
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Applications and Development of Bioplastics

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical and Molecular Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2021) | Viewed by 23954

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Zoe Terzopoulou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: biobased polymers; polymer nanocomposites; biomaterials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Dimitrios Bikiaris

E-Mail Website
Co-Guest Editor
Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry and Technology, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: synthesis and characterization of polyesters; development of biobased polymers; biodegradable polymers; polymer composites and nanocomposites; synthesis and characterization of copolymers; polymer blends; recycling of polymers with various techniques; enzymatic hydrolysis studies; modification of natural polymers; polymer for wastewater treatment pollutant removal; polymers for tissue engineering and drug delivery applications; drug–polymer solid dispersions; drug targeting; drug nanoencapsulation and microencapsulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is a great deal of action to protect the environment and to find solutions to the energy problem. Because of environmental policies and the need for viable alternatives to traditional chemicals and polymers, the use of renewable sources of plant origin, i.e., biomass, is believed to be the future of plastics.

Polymers from renewable resources represent an innovative solution to the problem of plastic pollution and, above all, to the consumption of mineral resources and the greenhouse effect. Bioplastics have attracted the interest of industries and consumers around the world over the last 20 years. At the same time, European and American legislative frameworks have changed in favor of bio-based products at the expense of petrochemicals. The bio-based products sector is considered a key-enabling technology by the EU, shifting the priority area for growth and finance.

This Special Issue will present the recent developments in the research of bioplastics. Submissions on related topics are welcome, including the synthesis of biobased monomers, the synthesis and characterization of bioplastics, their copolymers, composites, and nanocomposites, as well as their applications. Special attention will be devoted to bioplastics that are also biodegradable and compostable.

Dr. Zoe Terzopoulou
Prof. Dimitrios Bikiaris
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Polymer chemistry
  • biobased polymers
  • sustainability
  • bioplastics
  • recycling
  • biodegradation
  • natural resources
  • biobased monomers
  • biocomposites
  • bionanocomposites
  • composting

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 4759 KiB  
Article
Cold Crystallization Kinetics and Thermal Degradation of PLA Composites with Metal Oxide Nanofillers
by Evangelia Tarani, Klementina Pušnik Črešnar, Lidija Fras Zemljič, Konstantinos Chrissafis, George Z. Papageorgiou, Dimitra Lambropoulou, Alexandra Zamboulis, Dimitrios N. Bikiaris and Zoi Terzopoulou
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 3004; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11073004 - 27 Mar 2021
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 3591
Abstract
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanocomposites with antimicrobial fillers have been increasingly explored as food packaging materials that are made of a biobased matrix and can minimize food loss due to spoilage. Some of the most commonly studied fillers are zinc oxide (ZnO), titanium dioxide [...] Read more.
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) nanocomposites with antimicrobial fillers have been increasingly explored as food packaging materials that are made of a biobased matrix and can minimize food loss due to spoilage. Some of the most commonly studied fillers are zinc oxide (ZnO), titanium dioxide (TiO2), and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). In this work, nanocomposites with 1 wt.% of each filler were prepared by melt mixing. An extensive study of thermally stimulated processes such as crystallization, nucleation, degradation, and their kinetics was carried out using Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). In detail, non-isothermal cold crystallization studies were performed with DSC and polarized light microscopy (PLM), and kinetics were analyzed with multiple equations. The activation energy of the non-isothermal cold crystallization was calculated with the methods of Kissinger and Friedman. The latter was used to also determine the Hoffman–Lauritzen parameters (Kg and U*) by applying the Vyazovkin method. Additionally, effective activation energy and kinetic parameters of the thermal decomposition process were determined by applying the isoconversional differential method and multivariate non-linear regression method. According to TGA results, metal oxide nanofillers affected the thermal stability of PLA and caused a decrease in the activation energy values. Moreover, the fillers acted as heterogenous nucleating agents, accelerating the non-isothermal crystallization of PLA, thus reducing its activation energy. It can be concluded that metal oxide nanofillers catalytically affect the thermal degradation and crystallization of PLA samples. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Development of Bioplastics)
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15 pages, 4598 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Characterization of Unsaturated Succinic Acid Biobased Polyester Resins
by Lazaros Papadopoulos, Lamprini Malletzidou, Dimitra Patsiaoura, Andreas Magaziotis, Eleni Psochia, Zoi Terzopoulou, Konstantinos Chrissafis, Charles Markessini, Electra Papadopoulou and Dimitrios N. Bikiaris
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(3), 896; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11030896 - 20 Jan 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3592
Abstract
Polymers from renewable feedstocks are receiving increasing attention as the awareness about environmental issues derived from petroleum exploitation and waste accumulation is growing. With unsaturated polyester resins being one of the most used classes of polymers worldwide, the utilization of biobased monomers for [...] Read more.
Polymers from renewable feedstocks are receiving increasing attention as the awareness about environmental issues derived from petroleum exploitation and waste accumulation is growing. With unsaturated polyester resins being one of the most used classes of polymers worldwide, the utilization of biobased monomers for manufacturing is more relevant than ever. In the present work, succinic acid, one of the most promising biobased building blocks, was incorporated in the structure of the resins in question to increase their biobased content. By reacting with ethylene glycol (EG) or poly(ethylene glycol) and maleic anhydride (MA) at several molar rations, unsaturated polyester resins (UPRs) were prepared. Their synthesis was evaluated by a variety of spectroscopical techniques, and their rheological properties made use of the reactive diluent mandatory for facilitating processing. Thus, in a second stage acrylic acid (AA) was used as cross-linking agent in the present of initiators and accelerators producing thermosetting resins. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) was employed to screen the cross-linking procedure, whereas with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) it was proven that thermosetting resins were prepared. The thermal stability of the cured materials was evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Development of Bioplastics)
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14 pages, 4935 KiB  
Article
Feasibility of Utilizing Biodegradable Plastic Film to Cover Corn Silage under Farm Conditions
by Ernesto Tabacco, Francesco Ferrero and Giorgio Borreani
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(8), 2803; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10082803 - 17 Apr 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2953
Abstract
The degree of anaerobiosis and its maintenance over the conservation period are key factors in obtaining high quality silage. There is currently a demand to replace petroleum-based plastic films with biodegradable materials with suitable mechanical properties. This work has evaluated, under outdoor conditions, [...] Read more.
The degree of anaerobiosis and its maintenance over the conservation period are key factors in obtaining high quality silage. There is currently a demand to replace petroleum-based plastic films with biodegradable materials with suitable mechanical properties. This work has evaluated, under outdoor conditions, the shelf life of a Mater-Bi® biodegradable plastic (MB) film and its effects on the fermentative characteristics, microbial counts and aerobic stability of corn silage, and compared it with commercially available polyethylene (PE) and high oxygen barrier (OB) films. Corn (409 g DM/kg) was ensiled in 30 drive-over piles covered with MB, PE or OB films. The piles were opened after 21, 85, 133, 195 and 230 d of conservation. The effect of the film was assessed in silage sample close to (CF) and far (FF) from the film. The OB film allowed high quality corn silages to be obtained with similar pH, lactic acid, yeast and mold counts for CF and FF during the entire 230 d of conservation. The PE film showed similar values for the FF and CF areas for the first conservation period (until 133 d). The MB film showed a similar silage quality to OB until day 85, after which it underwent biodegradation and lost its ability to preserve silage in a good state. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Development of Bioplastics)
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19 pages, 4777 KiB  
Article
Characterization and Separation of Traditional and Bio-Plastics by Hyperspectral Devices
by Monica Moroni and Alessandro Mei
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(8), 2800; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10082800 - 17 Apr 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3378
Abstract
Nowadays, bio-plastics can contaminate conventional plastics sent to recycling. Furthermore, the low volume of bio-plastics currently in use has discourage the development of new technologies for their identification and separation. Technologies based on hyperspectral data detection may be profitably employed to separate the [...] Read more.
Nowadays, bio-plastics can contaminate conventional plastics sent to recycling. Furthermore, the low volume of bio-plastics currently in use has discourage the development of new technologies for their identification and separation. Technologies based on hyperspectral data detection may be profitably employed to separate the bio-plastics from traditional ones and to increase the quality of recycled products. In fact, sensing devices make it possible to accomplish the essential requirement of a mechanical recycling technology, i.e., end products which comply with specific standards determined by industrial applications. This paper presents the results of the hyperspectral analysis conducted on two different plastic polymers (PolyEthylene Terephthalate and PolyStyrene) and one bio-based and biodegradable plastic material (PolyLactic Acid) in different phases of their life cycle (primary raw materials and urban waste). The reflectance analysis is focused on the near-infrared region (900–1700 nm) and data are detected with a linear-spectrometer apparatus and a spectroradiometer. A rapid and reliable identification of three investigated polymers is achieved by using simple two near-infrared wavelength operators employing key wavelengths. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Development of Bioplastics)
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20 pages, 3016 KiB  
Article
Development of Novel Polymer Supported Nanocomposite GO/TiO2 Films, Based on poly(L-lactic acid) for Photocatalytic Applications
by Neda Malesic Eleftheriadou, Anna Ofrydopoulou, Myrsini Papageorgiou and Dimitra Lambropoulou
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(7), 2368; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10072368 - 30 Mar 2020
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2852
Abstract
In the present study the development of novel polymer-supported nanocomposite graphene oxide (GO)–TiO2 films, based on poly(L-lactic acid), one of the most exploited bioplastics worldwide, was explored for photocatalytic applications. The nanocomposites were synthesized and evaluated as photocatalysts for the removal of [...] Read more.
In the present study the development of novel polymer-supported nanocomposite graphene oxide (GO)–TiO2 films, based on poly(L-lactic acid), one of the most exploited bioplastics worldwide, was explored for photocatalytic applications. The nanocomposites were synthesized and evaluated as photocatalysts for the removal of a mixture of nine antibiotics, consisting of two sulphonamides (sulfamethoxazole, sulfadiazine), three fluoroquinolones (levofloxacin, norfloxacin, moxifloxacin), one anti-TB agent (isoniazid), one nitroimidazole (metronidazole), one lincosamide (lincomycin) and one diaminopyrimidine (trimethoprim), which are commonly found in wastewaters. The films were synthesized using 1 wt% GO and different TiO2 content (10, 25, and 50 wt%) and characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Findings confirmed the successful immobilization of GO/TiO2 in all cases. The PLLA–GO–TiO2 50 wt% composite film demonstrated higher photocatalytic efficiency and, thus, was further investigated demonstrating excellent photostability and reusability even after four cycles. Overall, PLLA–GO–TiO2 50 wt% nanocomposite demonstrated high efficiency in the photocatalytic degradation of the antibiotics in various matrices including pure water and wastewater. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Development of Bioplastics)
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14 pages, 3823 KiB  
Article
First Example of Unsaturated Poly(Ester Amide)s Derived From Itaconic Acid and Their Application as Bio-Based UV-Curing Polymers
by Rim Ouhichi, Sacha Pérocheau Arnaud, Abdelkader Bougarech, Souhir Abid, Majdi Abid and Tobias Robert
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(6), 2163; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10062163 - 22 Mar 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4077
Abstract
Recently, itaconic acid has drawn considerable attention as a novel radical-curing building block for polyester resins. These bio-based materials have been used in thermal, as well as ultra violet (UV) curing applications, such as printing inks or coatings. Poly(ester amide)s from itaconic acid [...] Read more.
Recently, itaconic acid has drawn considerable attention as a novel radical-curing building block for polyester resins. These bio-based materials have been used in thermal, as well as ultra violet (UV) curing applications, such as printing inks or coatings. Poly(ester amide)s from itaconic acid could be very interesting, as the amide group could alter the properties of the resins as well as cured materials. However, standard polycondensation reactions with diamines are not possible with itaconic acid as the amines preferably react via an aza-Michael addition at the α,β-unsaturated double bond. Therefore, alternative and more elaborate synthetic strategies have to be developed. Herein, we present two different synthetic strategies to poly(ester amide)s from itaconic acid that circumvent the addition reaction of the amines. This is in both cases done by a pre-reaction to form stable amide building blocks that are then reacted with itaconic acid or polyesters derived thereof. The structural composition and the properties of the resin are characterized, and the UV-curing reactivity is examined. All properties are compared to corresponding polyesters from itaconic acid. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Development of Bioplastics)
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14 pages, 3740 KiB  
Article
Isothermal Crystallization Kinetics of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Copolymerized with Various Amounts of Isosorbide
by Nicolas Descamps, Florian Fernandez, Pierre Heijboer, René Saint-Loup and Nicolas Jacquel
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(3), 1046; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10031046 - 05 Feb 2020
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2746
Abstract
Poly(ethylene-co-isosorbide terephthalate) (PEIT) copolyesters could be used in various applications depending on their ability to crystallize. Moreover, the possibility to carry out solid-state post-condensation (SSP) is conditioned by its ability to sufficiently crystallize. The present study, thus, gives a systematic investigation [...] Read more.
Poly(ethylene-co-isosorbide terephthalate) (PEIT) copolyesters could be used in various applications depending on their ability to crystallize. Moreover, the possibility to carry out solid-state post-condensation (SSP) is conditioned by its ability to sufficiently crystallize. The present study, thus, gives a systematic investigation of isothermal crystallization of these statistical copolyesters with isosorbide contents ranging from 4.8 to 20.8 mol.%. For each copolyester composition, the lowest isothermal half crystallization times and the highest Avrami constant (K) were obtained around 170 °C. Over the range of composition that was studied, both melting points and melting enthalpies decreased with increasing amounts of isosorbide (from 250 to 207 °C and from 55 to 28 J/g, respectively). On the contrary, half crystallization time displayed an exponential increase when increasing isosorbide contents in the studied range. Finally, structural and thermal analysis of PIT homopolyester are reported for the first time, showing that only ET moieties crystallized when PEIT was subjected to isothermal crystallization at 170 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Applications and Development of Bioplastics)
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