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Impact of melt rheology on zein foam properties

Impact of melt rheology on zein foam properties Zein, the main protein fraction in maize, is left as a by-product from bio-ethanol production. The protein has been investigated as a material for a long time, but mainly in the form of films. In contrast, foamed zein is presented in this article. Zein foams may perhaps be used, e.g. as trays for biodegradable food packages or as scaffolds for tissue engineering. A batch method for manufacturing solid foams was successfully developed, the foams being manufactured by evaporation of solvent from zein resins. In order to be suitable for foam formation, a resin must possess gas-retaining properties, which can be predicted by extensional rheology. The presence of plasticizer in some of the resins decreased their extensional viscosity, and this in turn affected the foaming process. Although all the resins displayed strain-hardening behaviour, there was coalescence of pores in all the foams. Insufficient extensional viscosity resulted in the collapse of pore walls during foam expansion. Structure analysis showed, e.g. that most pores were elongated along the main axis of the mould in which the foams were manufactured. The plasticizer content in the resins had no significant effect on the mechanical properties of the foams. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Materials Science Springer Journals

Impact of melt rheology on zein foam properties

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References (26)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
Subject
Materials Science; Materials Science, general; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Polymer Sciences; Continuum Mechanics and Mechanics of Materials; Crystallography and Scattering Methods; Classical Mechanics
ISSN
0022-2461
eISSN
1573-4803
DOI
10.1007/s10853-010-4649-3
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Zein, the main protein fraction in maize, is left as a by-product from bio-ethanol production. The protein has been investigated as a material for a long time, but mainly in the form of films. In contrast, foamed zein is presented in this article. Zein foams may perhaps be used, e.g. as trays for biodegradable food packages or as scaffolds for tissue engineering. A batch method for manufacturing solid foams was successfully developed, the foams being manufactured by evaporation of solvent from zein resins. In order to be suitable for foam formation, a resin must possess gas-retaining properties, which can be predicted by extensional rheology. The presence of plasticizer in some of the resins decreased their extensional viscosity, and this in turn affected the foaming process. Although all the resins displayed strain-hardening behaviour, there was coalescence of pores in all the foams. Insufficient extensional viscosity resulted in the collapse of pore walls during foam expansion. Structure analysis showed, e.g. that most pores were elongated along the main axis of the mould in which the foams were manufactured. The plasticizer content in the resins had no significant effect on the mechanical properties of the foams.

Journal

Journal of Materials ScienceSpringer Journals

Published: Jun 5, 2010

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