Formulation of pullulan/plasticizer blended films for their physical and biodegradability studies

The present investigation utilizes the ecoefficient pullulan polysaccharide as film forming biopolymer. Pullulan-based edible films offer good physical, thermal and mechanical properties which enable them to use in shelf-life preservation of fresh produce. Blends of other film forming polysaccharides, plasticizers and an antioxidant with pullulan (Pu) solution were prepared in order to determine physical and optical parameters of those films. The morphological and biodegradable studies were attempted to identify the changes on the films’ surfaces. The films made from (only) pullulan (10Pu), pullulan composited with sodium alginate(10Pu_0.5SA), gelatin (10Pu_0.5G), polyethylene glycol (10Pu_0.5PG), calcium chloride and lemon juice (10Pu_1CC_2L) resulted heavier film densities, higher whiteness indexes and lower total color difference values. All the films were tested for their biodegradability in soil, where visual changes were appreciated after 15 days, partial and complete degradation took place at the end of 34 days and 53 days, respectively. Thus, these pullulan blended films could be a better replacement for synthetic films towards environmental problems.