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Analysis of the application and progress of green degradable food packaging materials

In the realm of modern living, food packaging plays a pivotal role, ensuring the protection, quality, ease of transportation, and promotion of food products. As living standards rise, the demand for safer, eco-friendly, and healthier food packaging has increased. Traditional packaging materials pose environmental pollution risks, impacting public health and safety. Consequently, the shift towards green packaging materials has become an inevitable trend in modern food packaging development.

Among these materials, research and application of degradable materials take center stage. Degradable materials encompass biodegradable, recyclable, and cyclically renewable materials. Biodegradable materials, in particular, have gained prominence due to their ecological benefits and positive economic and social impacts. Currently, biodegradable materials find applications in the packaging of candies, yogurts, baked goods, fresh fruits, and vegetable by-products.

This article focuses on the development of degradable green food packaging materials, analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of various materials to provide insights for selecting suitable packaging materials in the future.

I. Degradable Green Food Packaging Materials

The majority of current food packaging, mostly non-degradable plastics, poses severe ecological threats, prompting increased attention to degradable food packaging research. Biodegradable food packaging materials, derived from natural degradable materials such as starch derivatives, proteins, cellulose, semi-cellulose, lignin, and chitosan, are produced using advanced processes and equipment. After disposal, these materials can be fully degraded by environmental microorganisms, ultimately producing carbon dioxide and water. Degradable green food packaging materials broadly fall into seven categories:

  1. Natural Materials: Plant-based materials dominate the market.
  2. Edible Packaging Materials: Utilizing edible substances like sugars, cellulose, fats, and proteins to create cost-effective and non-toxic materials.
  3. Biodegradable Materials: Capable of decomposing into water and carbon dioxide through microbial activity, including chemical, mixed, microbial, and natural materials.
  4. Thermally Degradable Materials: Decomposition of polymers into small molecules under high temperatures, categorized into depolymerization and random breakdown.
  5. Photodegradable Materials: Materials designed to rapidly decompose in specific environments using light-catalyzed reactions, offering simplicity, strong degradation capabilities, and low costs.
  6. Mechanically Degradable Materials: Localized thermal and radical degradation during processing, although improper handling may lead to unintended reactions.
  7. Nanopackaging Materials: Enhanced characteristics like moisture resistance, degradation resistance, antimicrobial properties, heat resistance, gas barrier properties, and mechanical strength achieved through nanomodification.

II. Biodegradable Food Packaging Materials

  1. Starch-Based Materials: Cost-effective, easily degradable packaging derived from starch, widely popular due to its low cost, good degradability, and abundant sources.
  2. Chitosan (CS): With unique structure and biodegradable properties, CS serves as a novel antimicrobial packaging material. However, its high cost, low antimicrobial rate, and limited applicability pose challenges.
  3. Polycaprolactone (PCL): A semi-crystalline thermoplastic material with good flexibility, thermal stability, and biocompatibility, but limited by its insufficient rigidity and low strength.
  4. Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA): Synthesized by microorganisms in unbalanced nutrient and metabolic environments, PHA offers excellent oil absorption and hydrophobicity while being biodegradable and reusable.
  5. Antimicrobial Packaging Materials: Effectively extends food shelf life and prevents bacterial contamination by incorporating substances inhibiting bacterial growth, with nanomaterials being particularly efficient.
  6. Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) Materials: Regulates internal temperature, gas concentration, and humidity to enhance shelf life and prevent food decay.

III. Key Technologies in Biodegradable Food Packaging Materials

  1. Modification Technology: Plays a crucial role in improving material properties such as antioxidant, mechanical, or degradable properties. Commonly used modification techniques include physical and chemical methods.
  2. Synthesis Technology: An essential direction in the research of biodegradable food packaging materials. Common synthesis methods include solvent/non-solvent solution, vapor-phase polymerization, melt polymerization, and in-situ polymerization. Addressing the energy and toxicity challenges in polymerization processes is vital for advancing synthesis technology.

In conclusion, with the rising awareness of environmental protection and ongoing concerns for health and safety, biodegradable and eco-friendly packaging materials are rapidly advancing. Despite challenges such as brittleness, high production costs, and poor thermal stability, these materials are gaining widespread attention and support from governments. Scientists are actively researching modification methods to develop new environmentally friendly packaging materials and reduce production costs.

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