DEVELOPMENT OF FILMS CONTAINING POLYLACTIC ACID/HALLOYSITE NANOTUBES IN BANANA ACTIVE PACKAGING

Ethylene plays a significant role in the ripening and aging processes of fruits and vegetables, ultimately reducing their shelf life. Consequently, the presence of ethylene can restrict the marketability and consumer accessibility of certain horticultural products, leading to heightened post-harvest losses and increased food waste. In this study, nanocomposite packaging films with ethylene scavenging activity, which will help preserve freshness during distribution, were developed and tested as packaging for fresh products. Nanocomposite packaging films were prepared by adding different amounts of halloysite nanotubes (HNNTs) to polylactic acid (PLA). Structural characterization of nanocomposite packaging films was performed by FTIR. The thermal properties of nanocomposite packaging films in an inert atmosphere were studied using TGA. The nanocomposite films' surface energies, colours, transparency, and gloss were also measured. The nanocomposite films were printed with gravure and printability parameters were investigated. Finally, the effects of PLA/xHNNTs nanocomposite packaging films on the quality of packaged bananas were also monitored in terms of hardness, colour change, and weight loss. It has been observed that increasing the amount of HNNTs in PLA/xHNNT nanocomposite packaging films improves the storage time of bananas.