Description:
This article reports on preliminary studies of several comparative
packaging properties between polyethylene terephthalate (PET) packaging films
and biodegradable biopolymers such as polycarpolactone (PCL), polylacticacid
(PLA), amorphous PLA (aPLA), and polyhydroxyalcanoates copolymer with
8 mol% valeriate (PHBV) and of some nanobiocomposites, in terms of thermal
and retorting resistance (thermal humid processes) and oxygen, water vapor,
aroma, and solvent barrier by means of time-resolved synchrotron radiation,
FT-IR and direct permeation methods. This work suggests that while PHBV
can easily withstand retorting and shows excellent water and aroma (limonene
and linalool) barriers compared with PET, its solvent resistance (toluene and
ethanol) and oxygen barrier properties are poorer. First trials with compression
molded food contact complying nanobiocomposites of PCL and
aPLA show enhanced oxygen barrier but not sufficient, as yet, to outperform
high-oxygen-barrier grades of PET film.