Purdue University researchers have developed tough, flexible, biodegradable films from cellulose, the main component of plant cell walls. The films could be used for products such as food packaging, agricultural groundcovers, bandages and capsules for medicine or bioactive compounds.

Food scientists Srinivas Janaswamy and Qin Xu hold a brick atop the biodegradable film they produced from cellulose, the main component of plant cell walls. Photo: Purdue University/Tom Campbell.

Food scientists Srinivas Janaswamy and Qin Xu engineered the cellophane-like material by solubilizing cellulose using zinc chloride, a common inorganic salt, and adding calcium ions to cause the cellulose chains to become tiny fibers known as nanofibrils, which greatly increased the material's tensile strength. The zinc chloride and calcium ions work together to form a gel network, allowing the researchers to cast the material into a transparent, food-grade film.

"We're looking for innovative ways to adapt and use cellulose — an inexpensive and widely available material — for a range of food, biomedical and pharmaceutical applications," said Janaswamy, research assistant professor of food science and principal author of the study. "Though plastics have a wide variety of applications, their detrimental impact on the environment raises a critical need for alternative materials. Cellulose stands out as a viable option, and our process lays a strong foundation for developing new biodegradable plastics."

Cellulose's abundance, renewability and ability to biodegrade make it a promising substitute for petroleum-based products, according to the Purdue news release. While a variety of products such as paper, cellophane and rayon are made from cellulose, its tightly interlinked structure and insolubility — qualities that give plants strength and protection — make it a challenging material to work with.

Janaswamy and Xu loosened the cellulose network by adding zinc chloride, which helps push apart cellulose's closely packed sheets, allowing water to penetrate and solubilize it. Adding calcium ions spurs the formation of nanofibrils through strong bonds between the solubilized cellulose sheets. The calcium ions boost the tensile strength of the films by about 250%.

The production process preserves the strength and biodegradability of cellulose while rendering it transparent and flexible.

Because the zinc chloride can be recycled to repeat the process, the method offers an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional means of breaking down cellulose, which tend to rely on toxic chemicals and extreme temperatures.

"Products based on this film can have a no-waste life cycle," said Xu, research assistant professor of food science and first author of the study. "This process allows us to create a valuable product from natural materials — including low-value or waste materials such as corn stover or woodchips — that can eventually be returned to the Earth."

The methodology could be adapted to mass produce cellulose films, the researchers said.

Janaswamy and Xu have filed a technology disclosure agreement with the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization.

The next step in the project, according to Purdue, is to find ways of making the cellulose film insoluble to water while maintaining its ability to biodegrade.

The paper was published in Carbohydrate Polymers and is free to download until July 2 at http://authors.elsevier.com/a/1T1eM_3IpJ7JkR. Afterward, journal subscribers can access the study at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.04.114.

Purdue graduate student Tianming Yao and then-undergraduate students Chen Chen and Katelyn Rosswurm also contributed to the research.