Arabinoxylan-Based Bioplastic from Wheat Bran: A Promising Replacement for Synthetic Plastics

The milling process of wheat annually generates over 150 million tons of wheat bran (WB), which has significant potential for bioplastic production. However, the production of bioplastics from these resources has never been explored until now. Wheat bran (WB) polymer was evaluated for its potential as an environmentally friendly biodegradable plastic, exhibiting a tensile strength of 2.3 MPa, elongation exceeding 100%, and resistance to diluted mineral acids, thereby highlighting its suitability for food packaging and related applications. The biodegradable plastic films were prepared through a molding process that involved three steps: (1) extraction of arabinoxylan from wheat bran, (2) hydrolysis and plasticization with glycerol, and (3) blending with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) in varying proportions. The resulting bioplastic exhibits competitive mechanical properties and biodegradability. Furthermore, the biodegradable plastic developed in this research contributes to agricultural waste management, the development of value-added products, and the reduction of carbon emissions incurred from plastic industries. Additionally, it can replace and reduce reliance on synthetic plastics, which are non-degradable and a source of severe environmental pollution.