ABSTRACT
Disposal of wastes from nondegradable packaging represents a worldwide huge problem; this fact has challenged the scientic community to develop biodegradable packaging to reduce the environmental impact (Krochta and Johnson, 1997; Tharanathan, 2003). Hence, the development of polymeric materials, based on renewable sources, has become increasingly important over the last two decades, due to the inevitable rising prices of petroleum-based materials and the relevant environmental concerns.
