DO VAL SIQUEIRA Larissa et al Starch based biodegradable plastics Methods of production challenges and future perspectives Current Opinion in Food Science v38 p122 130 2021

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Starch-based biodegradable plastics: methods of production, challenges
and future perspectives
Larissa do Val Siqueira, Carla Ivonne La Fuente Arias, Bianca
Chieregato Maniglia, Carmen Cecı́lia Tadini
PII: S2214-7993(20)30110-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2020.10.020
Reference: COFS 632
To appear in: Current Opinion in Food Science
Please cite this article as: do Val Siqueira L, Arias CILF, Maniglia BC, Tadini CC, Starch-based
biodegradable plastics: methods of production, challenges and future perspectives, Current
Opinion in Food Science (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2020.10.020
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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2020.10.020
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2020.10.020
1 
Starch-based biodegradable plastics: methods of production, challenges and future 
perspectives 
Larissa do Val Siqueira1,2, Carla Ivonne La Fuente Arias3, Bianca Chieregato Maniglia3 and 
Carmen Cecília Tadini1,2* 
1 Universidade de São Paulo, Escola Politécnica, Department of Chemical Engineering, 
Main Campus, São Paulo, SP, 05508-010, Brazil 
2 Universidade de São Paulo, Food Research Center (FoRC/NAPAN), SP, Brazil 
3 Universidade de São Paulo, School of Agriculture Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ), Department 
of Agri-food Industry, Food and Nutrition (LAN), Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil 
 
 
*Corresponding author: Tel: +55 11 30912258. Email: catadini@usp.br (C. C. Tadini) 
 
Graphical abstract 
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ABSTRACT 
Although packaging based on starch is already being commercialized, its properties still 
have some disadvantages concerning conventional plastics, such as poor barrier (vapor and 
oxygen) and mechanical properties. Improving them is a great challenge, to know its 
processability and commercialization better. Currently, there is one intense quest for 
developing starch-based biodegradable plastics at lab scale. There are also incentives for 
using biodegradable packaging among government policies, sustainability actions by 
industries, and changes in consumer behavior. We here discuss the methods of production 
of starch-based biodegradable plastics, the barriers to large production, and future 
perspectives. Our current opinion is that much research funding is needed to overcome the 
challenges to a large production of these materials. 
Keywords: biodegradable packaging, starch films, packaging production, large-scale 
barriers. 
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Introduction 
Ecofriendly polymers have gained great attention in the last few decades due to 
environmental concerns [1]. Starch is a biopolymer available in nature, and starch-based 
plastics are one of the end products which have been of great interest. Starch-based plastics 
can be applied to agricultural, medical and pharmaceutical purposes, and food packaging, 
for example [2]. 
Starch-based materials have shown great potential, especially when an increasing number 
of countries adopted regulations for banning disposable conventional plastics [3]. For 
example, in Spain, the commercialization of single-use items, such as straws, balloon 
sticks, and plastic cutlery is banned, as well as the use of microplastics in cosmetics and 
detergents (URL: https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-06-02/el-gobierno-lanza-un-nuevo-
impuesto-sobre-los-envases-plasticos-que-preve-recaudar-724-millones-de-euros.html). In 
Brazil, the states of Rio de Janeiro (Law Project nº 3794/2018) and São Paulo (Law Project 
nº 631/2018) already established regulations that prohibit the supply or sale of plastic 
straws in commercial establishments. It is well known that the main benefit of starch-based 
materials is the biodegradability due to faster degradation and reduced requirement of 
landfills, as compared to synthetic plastics [4]. Moreover, positive social-economic effects 
are expected involving the production of bio-based polymers, particularly related to their 
employment in the agricultural sector [5]. Besides, the starch source is extensively 
accessible, being corn, potato, and cassava starches produced on commercial-scale and the 
most explored starch sources for plastic production [5]. 
Currently, we can find some biodegradable materials based on starch with the 
“Biodegradable products institute (BPI)” (URL: https://www.bpiworld.org/) or “OK 
compost HOME” (URL: https://www.tuv-at.be/home/) certifications already being 
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commercialized in the packaging market. For example, Mater-bi® (Novamont, Italy), 
Bioflex® (FKuR Kunststoff GmbH, Germany), Biopac (Biopac Ltd (UK), Bio-solo (Indaco 
Manufacturing Ltd, Canada), Bioplast® (Biotec GmbH, Germany), Clean Green (Starch 
Tech Inc, MN (USA), Cornpol® (Japan Corn Starch, Japan), Eco-flow (National Starch & 
Chemical (USA), Ecoplast (Groen Granlaat, Netherlands), Vegemat® (Vegeplast S.A.S, 
France) and Solanyl® (Rodenburg Biopolymers, Netherlands). 
Although this type of plastic is already being commercialized, its production and the 
improvement of its final properties still represent a great challenge. Starch-based plastic has 
poor mechanical properties and, due to its hydrophilic character, it presents high water 
vapor permeability, which limits its applications [3]. To overcome this problem, different 
approaches have been studied, such as starch modification, reinforcement with 
nanomaterials, blend and multilayer strategies. 
Therefore, given the advantages and the disadvantages yet to be overcome of the starch-
based plastics, methods of starch-based biodegradable plastics production are here 
described, highlighting selected works for each technology. Moreover, the barriers for 
scaling up, challenges and the future perspectives of this field are discussed. 
Methods of production 
In this section, we explore techniques for starch film production, focusing mainly on the 
challenges of each. The preparation of starch-based films can be classified into wet and dry 
processes [6]. The wet process is more applied to lab-scale mainly because it is 
considerably time-consuming, whilst the dry process can be useful in an industrial setting 
[7]. The major processes for starch-based film production are casting (wet process), 
molding and extrusion (dry processes). 
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Figure 1 shows the number of papers found in the Web of Science database for each method 
from 2015 to 2020. The terms used in the research were: TS=((Casting AND starch) AND 
(*film* OR *sheet* OR *blend* OR *composite*) ) AND AB=(Casting AND Starch), for 
casting; TS=((Molding AND starch) AND (*film* OR *sheet* OR *blend* OR 
*composite*) ) AND AB=(Molding AND Starch) NOT AB=(3D OR “food extrusion” OR 
“pet food” OR print* OR dough OR cereal* OR bread* OR noodle*) NOT AK=(3D OR 
“food extrusion” OR “pet food” OR print* OR dough OR cereal* OR bread* OR noodle*), 
for molding; TS=((Extrusion AND starch) AND (*film* OR *sheet* OR *blend* OR 
*composite*) ) AND AB=(Extrusion AND Starch) NOT AB=(3D OR "food extrusion" OR 
"pet food" OR print* OR dough OR cereal* OR bread* OR noodle*) NOT AK=(3D OR 
"food extrusion" OR "pet food" OR print* OR dough OR cereal* OR bread* OR noodle*), 
for extrusion. 
 
Figure. 1. The number of papers (from 2015 to 2020) found in the Web of Science 
database for the following methods of starch-packagingproduction: casting, molding or 
extrusion. 
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We noted a superior number of publications on casting when compared with the other 
methods, which has increased over the years. In the period, there was a 22 % and 40 % 
increase for extrusion and molding, respectively, while casting increased by 100 %. This 
information suggests that many kinds of research in this field of starch-based plastic are 
still in their initial stage of verifying the formulation using the casting technique, which is a 
fundamental step. Also revealed is an urge for studying the extrusion and molding 
processes, for appropriately exploring the flexibility and the variety offered in parameter 
setting. This understanding is important to enable the next stage of the research in this field, 
aiming at large-scale production. The obstacles of scaling-up will be explored in the 
subsequent section. 
We also compiled the number of patents involving the methods of starch-based production 
in the Derwent Innovation Index through the Web of Science database for the same period 
(2015 to 2020), using the terms: (“starch” AND “packag*”) AND (“casting” OR 
“extrusion” OR “molding”) AND (“film” OR “plastic” OR “blend” OR “sheet” OR 
“composite”). We found a total of 61 patents indexed using the casting technology, while 
for extrusion, there were 63 and 101 for molding. These data convey interesting 
information showing that despite the higher number of publications using the lab-scale 
method, patents are significantly filled by large-scale technologies that facilitate technology 
transfers from the academy to the industry. 
Solvent casting 
Most studies involving the development of starch-based films use laboratory-scale methods 
since they are useful to evaluate the polymer capacity to form filmogenic matrices and their 
properties; however, they represent a high processing cost, due to the limited capacity of 
production and the difficulty in expanding to an industrial scale [8]. 
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One lab-method commonly used is solvent‐ casting. This method involves solubilization, 
casting, and drying steps. Firstly, the starch is gelatinized, forming a solution; some 
additives can be added to the process in this step. The casting technique consists in pouring 
the filmogenic solution onto plates (Teflon plates, Petri dishes, or acrylic plates), wherein 
the film thickness is controlled based on the mass of the film-forming solution that will not 
be lost during drying. Finally, the drying step can be conducted at room temperature or at a 
controlled temperature (30 to 40) °C, with drying times varying generally between (6 to 48) 
h, and under relative controlled humidity (30 – 85) %. 
The drying step is the most time-consuming [9], which is a point that hinders the process of 
scaling-up. Another point is that the films produced by this technique have a limitation of 
(25 to 30) cm (width or length) [10]. Also, in the literature, Ochoa-Yepes et al. [11] 
compared the properties of starch films produced by solvent casting in industrial-scale 
process (extrusion/thermo-compression). The authors observed that the casting method 
resulted in films with lower mechanical resistance, greater moisture content, water vapor 
permeability, water solubility, and hydrophilicity than films elaborated by 
extrusion/thermo-compression. 
We found a rare work involving the production of films based on cassava starch and pectin 
using a continuous laminating system KTF-S-B (Mathis, Germany) [12]. The film-forming 
solution was deposited on a polyester conveyor that takes the solution to a crack that 
promotes spreading in a uniform layer with controlled thickness. The conveyor then 
transports the material through drying sectors along the way. Although it brings the 
possibility of a continuous process, this technique shows some deficiencies when applied 
on a pilot-scale. For example, the filmogenic formulations must have adequate viscosity, 
sufficient to spread, but not so liquid that it can spill from the polyester surface, and the 
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step drying has to be efficient enough to dry while the material is transported on the 
conveyor. 
Because of the limitations presented by solvent casting, our current opinion is that much 
effort must be made by researchers to apply other methods that can be easily scaled-up. 
Tape-casting 
The tape-casting method is similar to that of solvent-casting; however, the support whereby 
the film-forming solution spreads allows drying control by conducting heat, circulating hot 
air (heat convection), and/or infrared. This process occurs through the movement of a 
conveyor tape (continuous process) or a scraper blade (batch process). An advantage of this 
technique is that it allows controlling the thickness through an adjustable blade at the 
bottom of the device where the solution is spread [13]. The thickness of the films generally 
varies between 20 μm and 1 mm. Besides, tape-casting allows producing multi-layer films 
by repeating the steps upon the film. 
Tape-casting is a method that requires a film-forming solution with shear thinning behavior 
with adequate apparent viscosity values to ensure adequate flow conditions and to 
concurrently prevent unwanted flow and sedimentation [13]. Works involving the use of 
tape-casting are scarce. From 2015 to 2020, we found four articles in the Web of Science 
database being two of them [13,14] by the same research group (Department of Chemical 
and Food Engineering – UFSC, Brazil). Although this technique allows the continuous 
process, a disadvantage of exploiting it is not being used by conventional plastic 
companies, which makes technology transfer difficult. Jo
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Compression-molding 
The compression-molding process consists of heating a thermoset resin under pressure and 
in a closed mold cavity; the resin liquefies and flows, taking the shape of the mold after 
cooling and, therefore, solidifying [15]. 
This method is low-cost when compared with others, such as injection molding, and it is 
suitable for a large number of materials production [15]. Moreover, little material is lost 
during the molding process, an advantage when working with expensive compounds. In 
recent years, this technology has been widely explored to produce bilayer films. This 
strategy allows combining two individual polymers in a single structure through bilayer 
association leading to better performance of the monolayers, in which at least one 
monolayer is produced with starch. 
Injection molding 
The injection molding technique consists in injecting a paste into a mold, with many 
control variables, such as powder granulation, paste temperature, filling rate, and mold 
temperature [16]. This method is widely used in polymer processing due to the ability to 
produce a high volume of complex plastic articles at low costs [16]. 
However, in the literature, most of the studies using this technology to produce 
biodegradable films relate the use of proteins, e.g. albumen, soy, pea, and rice protein, as 
biopolymers. Few studies report the use of starches and, in most of them, the starch is used 
as part of a blend. For example, a blend of starch and a copolymer of ethylene and vinyl 
alcohol; and a blend of native tapioca starch and polyethylene used as the binder of 316 L 
stainless steel powder [17,18]. Other studies reported the use of this technology combined 
with others, for example, extrusion [19]. 
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Extrusion 
Extrusion is a continuous and dynamic process that can be defined as a material in a solid 
or semi-liquid state that enters a fixed barrel and is transported until it exits the barrel, 
going through a die which shapes the material [20]. The transport is generally made by 
rotating screws. 
Inside the barrel, this materialundergoes several unit operations, such as mixing, heat 
exchange, melting, shear, and pressure drop. This thermomechanical treatment results in 
physical and chemical transformations in the material [21,22], generating changes in their 
properties [20]. In the shaping section, the material goes from liquid to solid-state, due to 
the change in pressure [21,23], resulting in the desired product. 
Extrusion is a major process for the polymer industry [21]; it is a flexible process and there 
are many extruder designs. The screws in an extruder are segmented, which means the 
screw can be assembled with different screw elements, depending on the process need, 
making possible a large range of configurations [21]. Among the possible designs, the ones 
that are most suited and used for starch-based plastics production will be described in 
detail. 
Single-screw extrusion 
The single-screw extrusion is used in the polymer industry, snacks, cereals, and oil 
separation process [21]. In a single-screw extruder, the barrel envelopes one rotating screw 
that can be assembled in a monobloc, with one type of screw elements in it, or in a modular 
assembly, with different screw elements. The latter configuration enables different sections 
in the extruder, namely feed, compression, metering and shaping section [21], making the 
process more effective. 
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Single-screw extrusion is a low-cost, easy to scale-up process, yet it is suited for simple 
compounds that do not require much flexibility of the process since it has less efficient 
mixing, conveying and heat transfer compared to twin-screw extrusion [21,22]. 
Twin-screw extrusion 
The twin-screw extruder design shows important advantages when compared to single-
screw extrusion. The two screws can be co-rotating or counter-rotating, intermeshing, or 
with separate meshes. However, the most efficient design is the twin-screw co-rotating 
intermeshing extruder. Twin-screw extruders have only modular assembly [21] and there 
are more screw elements for this design. For example, kneading discs, which help to mix 
and to melt the material, can only be used in this design. Also, there are elements to 
increase residence time and to generate a compression in the material [24]. 
The advantages of the twin-screw extruder are the accuracy to meet each demand in the 
process since it has more flexibility for the assembly of the screws; efficient mixing and 
conveying; low-cost process; easy to scale-up [20,25]. In extrusion, this design is the most 
explored for starch-based plastic research, once it enables setting specific parameters 
depending on the process needs [21]. 
Reactive extrusion 
Reactive extrusion is a continuous operation that can occur in a single or twin-screw 
configuration. In this method, the extruder is used as a chemical reactor [26]. It is widely 
applied to the polymer industry, to chemically modify virgin or blended polymers. It is an 
important process for biomaterials, which often need to undergo a reaction - cross-link 
reaction, for example - to attain the desired property, mainly reinforcement, or that need a 
catalyst for the reaction to take place. 
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There are many advantages in using an extruder despite a traditional reactor. As the 
reaction medium is the melt, solvents are not necessary; an extruder is a proper equipment 
for materials with high viscosity, being able to continuously transport it; there is a large 
range of process conditions; it is a low-cost process that offers energy saving. Conversely, 
there are some disadvantages, since the extruder can only perform short residence-time 
reactions; if the reaction is extremely exothermic, it can be difficult to control the 
temperature in the medium [21,27]. 
Co-extrusion 
The co-extrusion process consists of two or more polymer materials being extruded 
together. This process arose due to the demand of the packaging industries for properties 
not achieved by a single polymer, although they could be served by a combination of 
polymers [28]. For example, Mazerolles et al. [29] obtained blends based on low-density 
polyethylene (LDPE) with thermoplastic potato and corn starch, more transparent and with 
greater oxygen barrier (~ 20 times) than the films based on pure LDPE. 
Using co-extrusion allows producing a plastic film with distinct layers without requiring 
intermediate steps, differently from the lamination process, required for producing plastic 
films isolated, which are later adhered together [30]. Co-extrusion can be used for both 
blown and cast films. 
Blown-extrusion 
The blown-extrusion technique is the most used for producing plastic films [7]. Its greatest 
application occurs due to its advantages, such as simple production equipment, low-cost, 
adjustable film size, and continuous production. Moreover, this technique is versatile and 
capable of making single-layer or multilayer films with a variety of film thicknesses and 
widths. 
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Blown-films, also known as tubular films, are produced by an extrusion process with a 
circle-shaped extrusion die, with air pressure used to further expand the film. After the film 
is expanded to the desired dimensions, it is cooled to promote the solidification of the 
material [31]. 
The use of this technique for producing films using starch (TPS) is still a challenge given 
the difficulty in blowing film due to the insufficient toughness of the melted TPS [32]. 
Hence, most of the studies involving the use of blown extrusion for elaborating starch-
based films use a mixture of TPS with other polymers to adjust the rheological properties 
and to improve processability by this technique [32,33]. 
Table 1 shows some selected works involving the different methods of starch-based film 
production and their major findings considering scale-up, lower cost, lower time-
consumption, and new technologies to improve the film properties. 
Barriers vs solutions to large-scale production 
Many factors could be pointed out as likely to obstruct the scaling-up process of 
biodegradable films based on starch. Some of them are listed below. 
The first point is that biodegradable films are characterized by poorer mechanical and water 
barrier properties than those made from conventional petroleum-derived polymers. The 
addition of other components to act as a reinforcement filler has been evaluated [47,48]. In 
recent years, studies focusing on reinforcing biodegradable materials with nanomaterials 
have been investigated, yet most of these studies have been performed on a laboratory 
scale. The effect of chemical interactions, lack of evidence of biodegradability, fear of 
toxicological and health effects of these nanomaterials should be evaluated [4]. Moreover, 
legal aspects must be established, such as the nanomaterial used in one country may not be 
permitted in another, making the commercialization of these materials difficult [4]. 
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Another strategy to improve the mechanical and barrier properties has been developed by 
blending starch-based with conventional petroleum-derived polymers. However, these 
blends may not be biodegradable; the advantages of using a biodegradable polysaccharide 
are thus lost [48]. Another approach to improve these properties (mechanical and barrier) is 
the multilayers strategy, in which it is possible to take advantage of the individual 
characteristic of the monolayer films. However, this strategy, requires long production 
time, high energy consumption, increasing cost due to the two processes requirement. 
Therefore, this alternative is less interesting despite providing good barrier properties [4]. 
The film production method most explored in academic works is casting. It is difficult to 
scale-up because it requires evaporation of a significant amount of water,which is a high 
energy-consumption process and unsuitable for scaling-up to industrial production. Long 
drying times prevent accurate thickness standardization [4], which is also related to the 
formation of water vapor bubbles within the biocomposite structure [47]. 
Extrusion and molding methods show large-scale capacity. However, the difficulty in 
further exploring the use of these methods of production for starch-based films must be 
their high equipment cost. Also, for the plastic companies that already have this equipment, 
the production of starch-based films is more laborious, expensive, and results in materials 
with properties not as good as conventional ones. 
Another point that does not favor the large-scale production of starch-based plastics is the 
need for a special composting system to ensure proper processing or recycling of 
biodegradable plastic packaging when discarded. If they are not properly disposed of, being 
mixed with common plastics, for example, they can be contaminated and can no longer be 
used. Another very polemic fact is the use of croplands to produce natural materials to 
create biodegradable plastics instead of using them to produce food. The options would 
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thus be to explore starches from agro-industrial residues, or unusual starch sources, or even 
starch sources with high availability. 
Finally, another fact that reduces the interest in large-scale production of starch-based films 
is that their properties can be compromised over time. For example, the properties of the 
films must be stable to protect the contained food. However, starch-edible films generally 
suffer aging. Few studies in the literature explore aging [4], which also hinders the scaling-
up process. 
Despite the many points presented here that reflect the difficulty in producing starch-based 
plastics on a large-scale, we should reflect on two main factors: starch is a renewable 
source and starch-based plastics are biodegradable; they can thus help to solve the problems 
of petroleum depletion and accumulation of waste in the environment. 
Future perspectives 
In addition to all the scientific development to obtain biodegradable packaging, the 
environmental problem of plastic accumulation also relies on international and national 
government policies. For example, there are current policies for reducing the release of 
plastics in wastewater treatment plants [49], consumer education and awareness policies 
[50], besides improvements in the management of plastics life cycle [51]. Moreover, some 
public agencies have established control policies, including restrictions on advertisements, 
regulation of consumption, taxes and fees applicable to discourage the use of plastic, and 
banning single-use products [51–53]. Allied to that, companies have implemented 
voluntary actions known as corporate social responsibility (CSR) to perform sustainably in 
environmental spheres [51]. Thus, synergy is necessary among the policies created by 
governments, voluntary initiatives by industries, and changes in consumer behavior. 
Conclusion 
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We have seen that elaborating starch-based biodegradable plastics is a complex and more 
difficult process than the traditional petroleum-based polymers. Therefore, the 
modifications in the traditional processing techniques and the evaluation of processing 
conditions have been explored to overcome the challenges presented in polymer starch 
processing. The major methods of starch-based biodegradable plastics production were 
described in this study. Even though most of the studies in this field explore the lab-scale 
methods, the time-consuming drying step makes it uninteresting. Moreover, to streamline 
the process between the development of a material until it reaches the consumer, large-scale 
processing methods should be further explored, such as extrusion, injection molding, 
compression molding, and blowing. However, these techniques present their challenges, 
such as high equipment costs. Furthermore, governments need to establish a special 
composting system to ensure the proper discard of these materials. So far, the achievements 
in this area have contributed to a better understanding of the ability of starch to produce 
biodegradable polymers and the challenges involved in this field. However, the future of 
bio-based plastic production depends on a joint effort of academia, industries and 
governments. 
 
Declaration of interests 
The authors declare that they have no known competing for financial interests or personal 
relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. 
 
Acknowledgments 
The authors acknowledge the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) for grants 
2017/05307-8 and 2019/21700-7 and the National Council for Scientific and Technological 
Development (CNPq, Brazil) for grants 429043/2018-0 and 306414/2017-1. We would like 
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to thank the Food Research Center – FoRC for the financial support under FAPESP grant 
2013/07914-8. 
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32. Huntrakul K, Yoksan R, Sane A, Harnkarnsujarit N: Effects of pea protein on 
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35. Maniglia BC, Tessaro L, Ramos AP, Tapia-Blácido DR: Which plasticizer is 
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36. Menzel C, González-Martínez C, Chiralt A, Vilaplana F: Antioxidant starch films 
containing sunflower hull extracts . Carbohydr Polym 2019, 214:142–151. 
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polyester-blend films with carvacrol. Food Hydrocoll 2018, 83:118–133. 
38. Valencia-Sullca C, Vargas M, Atarés L, Chiralt A: Thermoplastic cassava starch-
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CNFs as reinforcers for the produced films. Also, it shows the analysis of 
films to verify their properties. 
43*. Vedove TMARD, Maniglia BC, Tadini CC: Production of sustainable smart 
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Food Eng 2021, 289:110274. 
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packaging using cassava starch and anthocyanin. Also, the smart action of the 
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hydrogels produced by extrusion and thermopressing . LWT 2020, 125:108950. 
46. Pattanayaiying R, Sane A, Photjanataree P, Cutter CN: Thermoplastic 
starch/polybutylene adipate terephthalate film coated with gelatin containing 
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47. Otoni CG, Lodi BD, Lorevice M V., Leitão RC, Ferreira MD, Moura MR de, 
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Figure caption 
Fig. 1. The number of papers (from 2015 to 2020) found in the Web of Science database for 
the following methods of starch-packaging production: casting, molding or extrusion. 
 
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Table 1. Selected papers involving different methods of starch-based biodegradable plastics. 
Starch-based 
biodegradable plastic 
developments 
Major findings Refs. 
Solvent casting 
Films based on potato starch were modified by ozone technology. The starch treated for 30 min with 
ozone resulted in more rigid, less flexible, less hydrophilic, and more transparent films than native 
starch ones. 
[34] 
The effect of the interaction of babassu starches (starch extraction by methods: steeping in acid 
medium - AS in alkaline medium - KS and neutral medium - WS) with plasticizers (sorbitol, 
glycerol, urea, or glucose) on the film properties was evaluated. The type of plasticizer did not affect 
the color or the antioxidant activity, but it affected the opacity, the chemical composition, and the 
structure of the film. Films with KS and AS starches and plasticized with glycerol and urea were 
more hydrophilic and more permeable to water vapor, less opaque, less mechanically resistant and 
less crystalline. Films with WS starch showed this behavior when sorbitol or glucose was used as a 
plasticizer. 
[35] 
Tape-casting 
The effect of the suspension thickness (starch and fiber) and the temperature on the conductive 
drying rate and the film properties were evaluated. Both parameters influenced the drying rate and 
film properties. Furthermore, it was observed that to obtain films with satisfactory properties, a 
maximum 60 °C temperature of drying is necessary, and thickness between (3 and 4) mm. It was 
possible to dry the films elaborated by tape-casting in 2.3 h (a much shorter time than that observed 
in conventional casting processes). 
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Cassava starch–cellulose films using a tape-casting method were produced using three different 
drying procedures: conduction, conduction-infrared, and infrared drying. The methods of infrared or 
conduction-infrared drying were faster (~1 h) than conduction drying. The films dried using infrared 
and conduction-infrared showed similar tensile strength, hygroscopicity, and glass transition 
temperature. 
[14] 
 
 
Compression 
molding 
A blend with potato starch incorporated with phenolic compounds extracted from sunflower hulls 
was prepared. The films showed good thermal stability with the potential use of potato starch to 
produce 100 % renewable and recyclable material, which can be easily produced at a low cost. 
[36] 
Bilayer films are widely studied and produced by compressing molding. In many of these studies, 
one monolayer is cassava starch combined with polyester blends incorporating carvacrol, chitosan 
containing essential oil or poly (lactic) acid PLA. In general, all of these studies showed excellent 
results with the combination of both matrices with enhanced characteristics, taking advantage of the 
monolayer characteristics. 
[37,38] 
 
 
Injection 
Molding 
Biocomposites with corn starch and a vegetable curauá fiber were developed. It was observed that 
the fibers increased the hardness, tensile strength, and decreased the strain. Moreover, the weight 
loss in soil degradation tests reached around 10 g/100 g after 230 days, showing to be a potential 
biodegradable material. 
[39] 
 
Single-screw 
extrusion 
 
Potato starch was blended with an ester, a result of the reaction between starch and fatty acids 
obtained from oil hydrolysate with the purpose of reinforcement and hydrophobicity of the 
bioplastic. A pre-analysis was carried out to verify the thermal stability of the starch and oil binding. 
the films were obtained using glycerol as a plasticizer. Among the analyses carried out, 
biodegradability and phytotoxicity were verified. The results showed an improvement in mechanical 
properties, lower water absorption and an eco-friendly product. 
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The authors developed a biocomposite using corn starch and sugarcane fiber for reinforcement. 
Aiming to improve the hydrophilicity, a commonly verified issue, this work proposed a prior 
chemical treatment for the starch and the fiber, acetylation. Different concentrations of fiber were 
used. After the analyses of the product, it was verified that the sugarcane fiber can be incorporated 
as a reinforcer with effective results. 
[41] 
Twin-screw 
extrusion 
The goal of the paper was to develop nanocomposites with thermoplastic corn starch (TPS) and 
cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) as reinforcement, focusing on a scale-up of the process. After 
analyzing the product, a good CNF dispersion in the TPS was verified, along with lower water 
absorption, and an enhancement in mechanical properties. 
[42] 
A sustainable smart packaging (sheets) based on cassava starch and anthocyanin (a natural pH 
indicator) by a twin-screw extrusion process was developed. The effect of the anthocyanin 
concentration on the properties of the sheets was evaluated. Also, the smart sheets were tested as a 
pH indicator in packaging trials with beef and fish for 3 days. The authors observed that the addition 
of anthocyanin resulted in thicker sheets, less resistant at break, flexible, and less rigid than the 
control ones. Thermoplastic starch sheets incorporated with 20 mg anthocyanin/100 g showed the 
best behavior as a smart packing indicator of pH change in beef stored at 6 °C. 
[43] 
 
Reactive 
extrusion 
The authors developed a packaging material with food hydrocolloids by reactive extrusion to 
achieve cross-link reactions. Using corn starch, chromium octanoate as food catalyst, cellulose 
acetate as filler, and glycerol as a plasticizer, the films were obtained in a twin-screw extruder, 
varying the concentration of the food catalyst and the filler, to evaluate their effectiveness. The 
results suggested that the cross-link reaction occurred. Also, biodegradability was verified. 
[44] 
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Citric acid was used to achieve cross-link reactions. A hydrogel sheet was produced with cassava 
starch, and xanthan gum, using citric acid as an agent for cross-link reactions, glycerol as a 
plasticizer and sodium hypophosphite as a catalyst. Using a single-screw extruder, pellets and sheets 
were obtained. Finally, the sheets were placed in a hydraulic press to result in a cured hydrogel. 
Once the product was analyzed, it was observed that the cross-link reactions occurred, resulting in a 
film with better mechanical properties and lower water absorption. 
[45] 
Co-extrusion 
Multilayer films were developed by co-extrusion of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and potato 
and corn thermoplastic starch (TPS). In this work, the authorsalso investigated the effect of adding 
natural and organo-modified clays in the TPS phase to investigate its effect on the mixture 
morphology, processability, and physical properties of the film. Natural clay improved the 
processing and quality of the film. The films formed by multilayer (LDPE and TPS) were more 
transparent, had a higher oxygen barrier (~ 20 times), and maintained the good mechanical 
properties of the films made only with LDPE. 
[29] 
The authors produced antimicrobial film by co-extrusion based on polybutylene adipate 
terephthalate (PBAT) and thermoplastic starch (TPS) with gelatin coating containing pure lauric 
arginate (LAE) or combined with nisin Z. The researches evaluated the antimicrobial activity of the 
films when packing shrimp in conditions of refrigeration or freezing for a long period. No films with 
antimicrobial activity were obtained when LAE was added directly to TPS/PBAT by co-extrusion. 
Thus, the option was for direct LAE coating on the TPS/PBAT film. Finally, the results from this 
study indicated that the films showed excellent inhibition against V. parahaemolyticus and S. 
Typhimurium in chilled or frozen seafood. 
[46] 
 
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Blown-extrusion 
Production of blown-extrusion films based on acetylated cassava starch (AS) and pea protein isolate 
(PI). The increase in PI caused a reduction of flexibility, light transmission and solubility, but 
increased crystallinity, protein aggregation, surface hydrophobicity, thermal stability, tensile 
strength, and barrier properties against water vapor, and oxygen of the films. 
[32] 
Production by blown-extrusion of starch-based nanocomposite films with different co-plasticizers 
(fructose, sucrose, glucose, and glycerol). The presence of sugars prevented the formation of 
interleaved structures reducing the relative crystallinity of the films, increasing the water vapor 
permeability, and reducing the resistance at the break and the glass transition temperature. The 
presence of sugars resulted in the fracturing and melting of starch granules. Sugars enhanced the 
flexibility of the films. Sucrose resulted in a better performance of the film than the other sugars 
(fructose or glucose). 
[33] 
 
 
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