{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/121351"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/121351","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Formulation of Biodegradable Polysaccharide Blend as Replacement of Single-use Plastics","abstract":"The accumulation of plastic waste has long been a problem and requires a multifaceted approach to address the complexity of this issue. Two heavy contributors are single-use plastics in the form of food packaging, and medical packaging. Conventionally, these are made of petroleum-based plastics as their production is well-established and low-cost, but a big disadvantage is their negative environmental effects, as they are almost always nondegradable. Biodegradable polysaccharides have a high potential to replace current plastics while bringing about a much better end of life, specifically as a biodegradable film that exhibits similar materials properties as typical plastics. However, these materials can be difficult to process and achieve suitable mechanical properties. The primary goal of this research was to develop and optimize a polysaccharide-based formula and test its capability to perform at the same level as traditional single-use plastics, as well as compare the introduction of crosslinkers and their enhancement. The fabricated films with or without crosslinkers were tested to determine their mechanical and thermal properties, anti-bacterial activity, water swelling, and soil degradation. A medical-grade plastic barrier film was used as a standard for comparison. Results demonstrate this product yields comparable necessary properties to plastics in current use and could serve as a viable degradable replacement.","abstract_html":"The accumulation of plastic waste has long been a problem and requires a multifaceted approach to address the complexity of this issue. Two heavy contributors are single-use plastics in the form of food packaging, and medical packaging. Conventionally, these are made of petroleum-based plastics as their production is well-established and low-cost, but a big disadvantage is their negative environmental effects, as they are almost always nondegradable. Biodegradable polysaccharides have a high potential to replace current plastics while bringing about a much better end of life, specifically as a biodegradable film that exhibits similar materials properties as typical plastics. However, these materials can be difficult to process and achieve suitable mechanical properties. The primary goal of this research was to develop and optimize a polysaccharide-based formula and test its capability to perform at the same level as traditional single-use plastics, as well as compare the introduction of crosslinkers and their enhancement. The fabricated films with or without crosslinkers were tested to determine their mechanical and thermal properties, anti-bacterial activity, water swelling, and soil degradation. A medical-grade plastic barrier film was used as a standard for comparison. Results demonstrate this product yields comparable necessary properties to plastics in current use and could serve as a viable degradable replacement.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gmati, Selma"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Materials Science and Engineering","degree_department":"Materials Science and Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Whittington, Abby Rebecca"],"committee_members":["McGinnis, Sean","Tufecki, Eser"],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-10-17","date_published":"2024-10-17","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:48Z","subjects":["Pullulan","chitosan","biodegradable","packaging"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International"],"rights_urls":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:41546"],"render_values":[{"text":"vt_gsexam:41546","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10919/121351","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Whittington, Abby Rebecca"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["McGinnis, Sean","Tufecki, Eser"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Materials Science and Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gmati, Selma"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2024-10-18T08:00:21Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-10-18T08:00:21Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024-10-17"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Materials Science and Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Pullulan","chitosan","biodegradable","packaging"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["vt_gsexam:41546"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/121351"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstractgeneral","label":"General Abstract","values":["The accumulation of plastic waste has long been a problem and requires a multifaceted approach to address the complexity of this issue. Two heavy contributors are single-use plastics in the form of food packaging, and medical packaging. Conventionally, these are made of petroleum-based plastics as their production is well-established and low-cost, but a big disadvantage is their negative environmental effects, as they are almost always nondegradable. Biodegradable polysaccharides have a high potential to replace current plastics while bringing about a much better end of life, specifically as a biodegradable film that exhibits similar materials properties as typical plastics. However, these materials can be difficult to process and achieve suitable mechanical properties. The primary goal of this research was to develop and optimize a polysaccharide-based formula and test its capability to perform at the same level as traditional single-use plastics, as well as compare the introduction of crosslinkers and their enhancement. The fabricated films with or without crosslinkers were tested to determine their mechanical and thermal properties, anti-bacterial activity, water swelling, and soil degradation. A medical-grade plastic barrier film was used as a standard for comparison. Results demonstrate this product yields comparable necessary properties to plastics in current use and could serve as a viable degradable replacement."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:format.medium","label":"Dc Format Medium","values":["ETD"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Formulation of Biodegradable Polysaccharide Blend as Replacement of Single-use Plastics"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Whittington, Abby Rebecca"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["McGinnis, Sean","Tufecki, Eser"],"dc:contributor.department":["Materials Science and Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Gmati, Selma"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2024-10-18T08:00:21Z"],"dc:date.available":["2024-10-18T08:00:21Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2024-10-17"],"dc:description.abstractgeneral":["The accumulation of plastic waste has long been a problem and requires a multifaceted approach to address the complexity of this issue. Two heavy contributors are single-use plastics in the form of food packaging, and medical packaging. Conventionally, these are made of petroleum-based plastics as their production is well-established and low-cost, but a big disadvantage is their negative environmental effects, as they are almost always nondegradable. Biodegradable polysaccharides have a high potential to replace current plastics while bringing about a much better end of life, specifically as a biodegradable film that exhibits similar materials properties as typical plastics. However, these materials can be difficult to process and achieve suitable mechanical properties. The primary goal of this research was to develop and optimize a polysaccharide-based formula and test its capability to perform at the same level as traditional single-use plastics, as well as compare the introduction of crosslinkers and their enhancement. The fabricated films with or without crosslinkers were tested to determine their mechanical and thermal properties, anti-bacterial activity, water swelling, and soil degradation. A medical-grade plastic barrier film was used as a standard for comparison. Results demonstrate this product yields comparable necessary properties to plastics in current use and could serve as a viable degradable replacement."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:format.medium":["ETD"],"dc:identifier.other":["vt_gsexam:41546"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10919/121351"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"],"dc:subject":["Pullulan","chitosan","biodegradable","packaging"],"dc:title":["Formulation of Biodegradable Polysaccharide Blend as Replacement of Single-use Plastics"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Materials Science and Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:19:48Z"}