ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the utilization of waste biomass into preparing biodegradable packaging films. Biodegradable packaging materials are something of importance today due to the problems associated with non-destructible nature of plastic. A viable solution to this problem is the utilization of waste biomass from forest/agricultural waste, the most abundant renewable resource composed of lignocellulose. These lignocellulosic materials can be used to develop composite materials in conjugation with biodegradable polymers developed over the decades to prepare biodegradable composite materials. One such very promising biodegradable polymer is polyvinyl alcohol derived by hydrolysis of polyvinyl acetate. Polyvinyl alcohol is an excellent film-forming polymer with good oil and gas barrier properties but poor moisture resistance as it is water soluble. Film-forming polymers are important as discarded single use plastics are mostly in the form of packaging films. This chapter reviews in detail various biodegradable packaging films prepared using lignocellulose biomass with polyvinyl alcohol and/or starch. Further the waste biomass can be utilized for extraction of nanocellulose which can remarkably improve the mechanical and barrier properties of resulting composites which have been reinforced with nanocellulose. A brief overview of methods of extraction of nanocellulose from lignocellulose is provided along with a review of composites of polyvinyl alcohol and lignocellulose biomass, reinforced with nanocellulose
