Biodegradable PVA/starch films with zeolite additive

Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is a synthetic biodegradable polymer widely applied in packaging due to its high mechanlcal and sealing performance. Blending PVA with starch enhances its biodegradabllity and water resistance while lowering production costs Additionally, zeolite additives have been reported to improve the mechanical, thermal, and barrier properties of biodegradable films, along with potential interest for 'active' packages Therefore, in this study, fine zeolite 13X powder was incorporated in opportunely prepared PVA/starch (P/S) aqueous formulations as a multifunctional additive; then, rod-coating and drying of the formulations were employed to obtain thin films. The preparation conditions were carefully optimised to obtain films with good final dispersion Of zeolite additive, particularly as tested with FTIR-ATR spectroscopy. Among preliminary characterizations of films, water vapor permeability (WVP) tests were conducted. Besides testing films' mechanical and thermal propeflies, it is planned to exchange zeolites with antimicrobial ions and also evaluate gas scavenging activity. Natural zeolite clinoptilolite will be taken into consideration as well.