Preparations of Nano Cellulose Particles from Agricultural\nWastes for Eco-Friendly Biodegradable Take Away Bowls for Food

The fabrication of eco-friendly,\nnano cellulose particle (NCP)-based\ntake away bowls using agro wastes has hardly been investigated in\nthe literature. In this study, NCP was prepared from Palmyra fruit\nwaste, wood apple shell, and pepper spikes using a combination of\nphysiochemical treatments. After each treatment, the morphology and\npurity of NCP were confirmed using electron microscopic techniques\nand Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, respectively. The average\ndiameter of prepared NCP was 1–10 nm. Palmyra NCP had the highest\nyield (53 ± 0.51%) and crystallinity (96%) and hence was selected\nfor further studies. Then, NCP-Bioplastic pellets with different combinations\nof NCP, polylactic acid (PLA), and thermoplastic starch (TPS) were\ndeveloped via compounding, extrusion, and injection molding. NCP-Bioplastic\nstrips with 60% NCP, 30% PLA, and 10% TPS had enhanced mechanical,\nthermal, and biodegradation properties and reduced oxygen and water\nvapor transmission rates compared to neat PLA. The developed NCP-Bioplastic\nstrips had a contact angle of >93°; hence, it is also suggested\nfor packing wet food products. Therefore, the present investigation\nhas verified the potential for substituting synthetic plastic with\nnano cellulose-based bioplastic in the production of take away bowls.