Citric acid cross-linked regenerated bacterial cellulose as biodegradable film for food packaging

The global depletion of petrochemical resources, along with the environmental problems caused by the widespread use of traditional plastics, has brought more attention to exploring biodegradable materials. However, the high preparation costs and complex manufacturing processes leave us few choices of raw biodegradable materials. Herein, regenerated bacterial cellulose (RC) was used to prepare an environmentally-friendly material that degrades rapidly. Further addition of citric acid (CA) enhances its mechanical property and degradability, resulting in a CA-cross-linked regenerated cellulose film (CA15%-RC) with a fracture strength of 93.40 MPa and Young's modulus of 4.2 GPa, which behaves better in food preservation than commercial PVC plastic wrap. In addition, the film could be completely degraded in soil within 2 weeks. In view of the results, the CA15%-RC film has great application prospect in food packaging.

Automated summary

In this study, a biodegradable material was prepared using regenerated bacterial cellulose and citric acid. The resulting film showed improved mechanical properties and degradability compared to commercial plastic wrap, making it a promising option for food packaging.