Krzysztof Bieńczak

The overview on the use of natural fibers reinforced composites for food packaging

ABSTRACT Nowadays global packaging is a very important branch of industry and it is still growing. In the case of food packaging, materials such as polypropylene, polyethylene (PE) and other synthetic polymers have become very popular. However, the biggest disadvantage of traditional polymers is their poor biodegradability. Alternatives to them are biodegradable polymers, such as starch, cellulose, polyhyroxyalkanoate, chitosan, polylactic acid (PLA), however they still have some disadvantages, for example in the case of PLA, the prize is very high. Very promising materials are natural fibers, which can be used as a filler in a matrix of biodegradable polymers reducing their cost or non-biodegradable, increasing their eco-friendliness. Nonwoven based on natural lignocellulosic fibers are also promising. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to determine the current state of knowledge about natural fibers used in composites, with particular reference to new composite materials based on fibers that can be used in food packaging.