The growing focus on sustainability, eco-friendly technologies, decarbonization, and reducing carbon footprints shapes current industry challenges. This article reviews the potential of cinnamon as a bio-additive for polymer stabilization in packaging. Samples were prepared from ethylene-norbornene copolymer (Topas), a cyclic olefin copolymer known for purity, transparency, and low gas permeability, and poly(lactic acid) (PLA), a bio-based alternative to petroleum plastics. Cinnamon powder was added in 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 wt%. After solar and thermo-oxidative aging, hydrophobicity, chemical composition, mechanical, and color properties were analyzed. Results showed higher hydrophobicity and resistance to hydrolytic degradation due to reduced water penetration. PLA, normally brittle, became more flexible, with 0.5 wt% cinnamon showing optimal performance after 100 h of solar aging, similar to Topas composites. Overall, PLA and cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) films with cinnamon improved durability, extended food shelf life, and acted as natural color indicators of material aging.

The current experimental investigation presents a comparative evaluation of selected biodegradable polymer blends and their composites, focusing on their material properties. Two biopolymers, polylactic acid (PLA) and polybutylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT), along with pineapple fibers (F), as bio-reinforcement were taken for the analysis, which was conducted in two stages: During first stage, PBAT was melt-blended with PLA in varying weight fractions (10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 wt%) to produce PLA/PBAT blend (B) and in second stage, PLA, PBAT, B 80/20 blend were reinforced with pineapple fiber (10, 20, and 30 wt%). The samples were fabricated using extrusion-injection molding. The samples were characterized for density, thermal degradation, crystallinity, and mechanical behaviour. Among the blends, the optimal B 80/20 combination exhibited tensile strength, flexural strength, and elongation at break of 47.9±2.4, 88.2±5.4 MPa, and 330.6±10.47%, respectively. Results indicate that the PLA-based composites (PF) exhibit significantly better density, tensile strength, and flexural strength as compared to neat polymers, blends, blend-based composites (BF), and PBAT-based composites (TF). Among the PF composites, the PF 70/30 composite demonstrated superior performance, with maximum tensile and flexural strength values of 73.9±1.3 and 107.1±4.3 MPa, respectively.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is an eco-friendly biopolymer with outstanding structural and functional properties, offering promising applications in sustainable packaging and bio-based materials. In this study, we demonstrate the feasibility of producing BC via spontaneous fermentation, using grape pomace supplemented with sucrose as the sole carbon source, nutrient substrate, and microbial inoculum, without the addition of commercial strains or nitrogen supplements. Fermentation was conducted under static conditions, yielding biofilms with stable structural characteristics and BC production of up to 14.1 g/L, thereby confirming the efficiency of this low-cost, residue-based process. The films obtained exhibited well-organized polymeric networks, with thermal stability in the range of T_g ≈ 159–266 °C and mechanical resistance comparable to or higher than conventional biopolymers. Characterization confirmed reproducible chemical profiles, thermal stability, and measurable variation in mechanical performance, with a tensile strength ranging from 0.0001 to 105 MPa and an elongation at break of 15±5%. The process highlights a resource-efficient and sustainable pathway, adaptable to rural contexts and aligned with circular economic principles. While minor variations among replicates reflected the intrinsic variability of biological systems, mean values and standard deviations demonstrated reproducible physicochemical and mechanical properties. These findings demonstrate that BC derived from agro-industrial residues can be produced under simple, low-input conditions, opening opportunities for scalable valorization in functional and sustainable materials.

Biocomposites have recently received more attention because of raising environmental awareness and the drive toward sustainable technologies. The most common biodegradable polymer is poly(lactic acid) (PLA), which has an excellent balance of physical and rheological properties, but there is some limit to its usage. PLA properties can be improved by adding different types of fibers or fillers that come from agricultural waste. In this study, corn cob and lavender stem were used to reinforce PLA without any coupling agent, and the properties of the composites were investigated. The melt flow rate (MFR) values decreased with the corn cob content and increased with the addition of lavender stem. Mechanical tests showed that the tensile and flexural modulus of the composites increased and the strengths decreased with the reinforcement material content. The rigidness of PLA slightly decreased with the addition of fillers. There was no significant effect on the thermal properties. The unremarkable improvement of the reinforcement was due to the lack of appropriate adhesion of the two phases. The structure of the compounds was found to be homogenous on the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs. The incorporation of corn cob and lavender stem can reduce the production cost of materials.

This study demonstrated, for the first time, the successful formation of porous paramylon esters, which were made from euglenoid polysaccharide known as paramylon and short-chain fatty acids, through supercritical CO₂ processing. By maintaining a constant ester functional group attached to the paramylon and varying its proportion, distinct porous structures were selectively produced. Solubility parameter estimations indicated that changes in esterification had no significant effect on the solubility of the paramylon esters used in the experiment. Thus, these structural differences are likely attributed to variations in the viscoelastic properties of paramylon esters under supercritical CO₂ conditions. Furthermore, thermal conductivity measurements revealed reductions of up to 20%. Intriguingly, substantial decreases in thermal conductivity were observed even at low foaming ratios, achieved through precise control of the porous structure.