Cellulose-nanofibre reinforced starch/PBAT films for food packaging
Testing whether small cellulose nanofibre loadings can close the strength gap between compostable starch blends and conventional packaging film.
- Role
- Undergraduate researcher (senior project)
- Supervisor
- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Siriporn Thanakit
- Lab
- Polymer Processing Laboratory, SCME, Mahidol University
- Dates
- Jan 2026 – present · ongoing
Cassava starch blended with poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) gives a compostable film, but the blend is mechanically weak and absorbs water readily. This project asks how far a small loading of cellulose nanofibre (CNF) can improve tensile strength and water resistance before dispersion breaks down and the film becomes brittle.
Films are solution-cast at CNF loadings from 0 to 5 wt%, then characterised for morphology, thermal behaviour, mechanical response and surface wettability. The work is ongoing; results below are from the first two casting rounds.
Key result
A 3 wt% cellulose nanofibre loading raised tensile strength by 34% over the unfilled starch/PBAT control, with elongation at break falling from 210% to 168%.
Methods and techniques
- Solution casting
- Tensile testing (ASTM D882)
- SEM
- FTIR
- TGA
- DSC
- Contact angle measurement
