Biodegradation evaluation of films made with plant biomass polysaccharides

Abstract

Due to the large population growth and the current consumption habit in today's society, the environment has suffered a relevant impact regarding the extraction of natural resources and waste generation. An example of this is the production and disposal of plastic materials, most of which come from petroleum, which accumulate for considerable time in the environment and negatively impacts the flora, fauna and the entire biota of the environment. In addition to plastics, other residues of significant availability that can result in environmental impacts are agro-industrial residues, such as sugarcane bagasse, which is widely generated in Brazil due to sugar and alcohol production and which has a high potential for biotechnological application. Therefore, the objective of this work will be to test the soil degradability time of sugarcane bagasse biofilms and the microbial contamination profile (Escherichia coli, Aspergillus niger and Trichoderma reesei) will be used. The biofilm will be obtained from different concentrations of lignocellulosic materials from sugarcane bagasse (xylan, ±-cellulose, holocellulose), starch and glycerol by means of the casting procedure and blends formulation. In this way, chemical analyzes will be made by HPLC of the contents of lignocellulosic constituents extracted from sugarcane bagasse. In this work proposal, the physical properties of the biofilms produced will be performed (opacity, weight, moisture, thickness, solubility and mechanical tests) and after the determination of the best film in terms of physical properties, degradability and contamination, it will be analyzed by scanning electron microscopy before and after degradability tests. Finally, the impact of biodegraded film on soil health will be analyzed. Therefore, the objective of this work will be the production of a film from vegetal biomass with reduced environmental degradation time and with active film properties, besides guaranteeing the adequate physical properties of a material for use in various sectors of society. (AU)