Influence of hot-melt extrusion and acetone-based solution casting on the characteristics of ethyl cellulose films with myvacet and glycerol mono-oleate plasticizers

Today, most studies on bioplastic materials use solution casting method, however hot-melt extrusion is the common method applied in the plastic industry. In current research, ethyl-cellulose (EC, 45 cP) was used to fabricate films using these processing techniques while their effect on the EC film performance was examined. The neat solution cast EC (ECC) film exhibited higher glass transition temperature (135 °C compared to 129 °C) and melting temperature (184 °C compared to 179 °C), as well as increased tensile strength (27 MPa compared to 20 MPa) and elongation at break (15 % compared to 4 %), compared to the neat, extruded EC (ECE) film. These discrepancies can be attributed to acetone residue acting as a plasticizer in the ECC film and partial degradation of EC chains in the ECE film during processing. The influence of plasticizer addition on the performance of these films was explored, using glycerol mono-oleate and Myvacet®. The results revealed lower transition temperatures and inferior mechanical performance for the plasticized ECE films compared to the ECC films. This can be attributed to efficient penetration of the plasticizers between EC chains in ECE films and the interference of acetone to the EC-plasticizer interactions in the ECC films.