Title
Environmental impact of peanut skin-reinforced native starch foams modified by acetylation
Date Issued
01 March 2022
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
García-Rengifo A.R.
Rojas-Bringas P.M.
Publisher(s)
John Wiley and Sons Inc
Abstract
Starch foams are natural and biodegradable alternatives proposed as sustainable replacements to expanded polystyrene. Despite being recognized as eco-friendly materials, environmental impacts associated with their production process remain poorly studied. Here, the cradle-to-gate life-cycle assessment of four types of starch-based foams (potato, cassava, corn, and sweet potato) reinforced with peanut skin was assessed and analyzed. Chemically modifying starch by acetylation may accelerate the degradation ratio and decrease its hydrophilicity, which is a common issue in packaging applications. Hence, two starch scenarios were evaluated, considering as-prepared and acetylated starches. The environmental burden of starch foam production varied depending on the starch source due to the different agricultural and irrigation practices. By incorporating 10 wt% of acetylated starch, the environmental impact drastically increased in most categories. Additionally, the sensitivity analysis carried out with different peanut skin contents showed a limited effect under 0–30 wt% of peanut skin, suggesting that peanut production exhibits a similar environmental burden to most starches.
Start page
89
End page
99
Volume
31
Issue
3
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Bioproductos (productos que se manufacturan usando biotecnología), biomateriales, bioplásticos, biocombustibles, materiales nuevos bioderivados, químicos finos bioredivados
Ciencias del medio ambiente
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85105623646
Source
Environmental Quality Management
ISSN of the container
10881913
Sponsor(s)
This work was supported by the Vice‐rectorate of Research of the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru (VRI‐PUCP).
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus