Lima, Edla Maria Bezerra, Middea, Antonieta, Reis, Fábio Silveira, Mateus, Débora Nascimento, de Amorim, Rodrigo Gomes, Pereira, Ingrid Cristina Soares, dos Santos, Natália Rodrigues Rojas, da Costa Mattos, Mariana, da Silva Minguita, Adriana Paula, dos Anjos, Marianna Ramos, Neumann, Reiner, Oliveira, Renata Nunes, and Tavares, Maria Inês Bruno
In this research, mango parts (kernel and integument) were loaded into a polylactic acid (PLA) matrix by a casting process to develop biocomposite materials. These materials should present improved mechanical and thermal properties and have the potential to be used as environmentally friendly, biodegradable food packaging material with extended shelf life. For this purpose, the research was divided into two parts: step 1, ground materials of a certain particle size from a previous work1 and step 2, which are the materials from Step 1 ground again. The samples were characterized by x‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), laser granulometry, texture tests, and thermal analysis. The difference between them was particle size distribution, impacting the materials' mechanical strength and degradation rate. Three biocomposites were made (PLA/kernel, PLA/integument, and PLA/kernel/integument) in both steps. SEM was used to observe the size distribution of the mango seed and sample morphology. In addition, resistance values increased with the addition of kernel or integument particles. Biocomposite biodegradability was also evaluated. Based on the results of this study, the biocomposites showed high mechanical properties and thermal stability, making them suitable for applications such as food packaging and structural components to help reduce environmental loads and microplastic generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]