Valorization of banana peel (Musa paradisiaca) as a raw material for biopolymer production

Abstract

The use of plastic materials and their negative effects on society has increased the studies about biomaterials as substitute material; during the present research, a biofilm obtained from banana peel (PBCP) was developed and subsequently several properties were evaluated. By means of centrifugation, banana pulverized was extracted by varying the number of revolutions per minute (rpm) 900, 1500, and 3000. Glycerol was used for the formation of PBCP at concentrations of 30% and 50%; additionally, the heating temperatures were controlled at 70, 80, and 90 ◦C. The results showed that due to the low protein content of the banana pulverized, the treatments did not show thermal denaturation; the treatments subjected to 3000 rpm and 90 ◦C denoted higher viscosity values (57570 Pa·s). On the other hand, in the analysis of moisture absorption kinetics, it was determined that the temperature and rpm variables do not influence the results obtained; however, the higher the percentage of glycerol in the film, the higher the rate of moisture absorption, going from (3.1×10−10 to 3.7×10−10) cm2/s and (3.9×10−10 to 4.9×10−10) cm2/s, respectively. In the water vapor permeability, a significant difference in the levels of glycerol is evidenced; the PVA values of the PBCP in the different conditions ranged between (2.8 to 5.0) g·mm/(kPa·h·m2). From the above, it is determined that it is possible to perform PBCP, and to improve the viscosity results it is recommended to use an emulsifier to avoid the reagglomeration of the molecules.