Overview of renewable polysaccharide-based composites for biodegradable food packaging applications

Abstract

Renewable environmentally friendly polysaccharides and their composites meet the requirements of green chemistry, which have been extensively used for biodegradable food packaging applications. Renewable polysaccharides include cellulose, nanocellulose, hemicellulose, chitosan, starch, pectin, etc. The present study is divided into biomass-based composites (cellulose, nanocellulose, and hemicellulose), chitosan-based composites, and other polysaccharide-based composites (starch, pectin, etc.). Special attention has been paid to various synthetic strategies, intrinsic microstructures, inherent properties, and potential food packaging applications. The differences among these renewable polysaccharide-based composites were comparably reviewed with detailed examples. The problems and future research on renewable polysaccharide-based composites are suggested for biodegradable food packaging applications. It is expected that the potential superiority of polysaccharide-based composites in food packaging will promote the development of green chemistry.