Utilization of cassava peel based cellulose nanofiber for developing functionalized pectin/pullulan/olive oil...

The current research focused on the utilization of cassava peel for fabricating cellulose nanofiber (CNF) and development of nanocomposite films for cling wrapping of chicken meat. The extraction of cellulose was achieved through the pretreatment method of cassava peel. Further, CNF was fabricated via acid hydrolysis (H₂SO₄) of cassava peel derived cellulose. Field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis confirmed the formation of CNF with diameters ranging from 25.9 to 50.0 nm. Moreover, X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed the characteristics peak of CNF at 21.66°. Further, the thermal stability of CNF was compared with cellulose. The CNF showed the highest thermal stability with T₁₀, T₅₀ value of 204.30 °C and 336.80 °C respectively, along with the residual weight of 24.19 %. Further, various compositions of films such as CNF incorporated pullulan /pectin (PP) and pullulan /pectin /olive oil (PPO)-based nanocomposite films were developed using solution casting method. The properties of films were investigated in terms of surface morphology, barrier, mechanical and optical properties. Incorporation of CNF reduced the water vapor transmission rate of the nanocomposite films. Moreover, film containing 1.5 wt% CNF exhibited the highest tensile strength (6.90 MPa) and Young's modulus (7.21 MPa), while elongation at break peaked at 1 wt% CNF for PP films but decreased with higher CNF content in PPO films. Further, the developed films were used as a cling wrapper for chicken meat and storage study was checked. The cling wrapper maintained the color of the chicken meat, minimizing weight loss from 42.08 % (unwrapped) to 6.13-11.59 % (cling wrapped) and limits the increase in hardness over 10 days. Microbial analysis revealed a significant reduction in mesophilic and psychrophilic bacterial counts in cling wrapped chicken meat as compared to unwrapped one.