Macaúba as a sustainable alternative to plastic packaging

What if single-use plastic packaging finally had a sustainable alternative? In Brazil, researcher Carmen Guedes is developing two types of biodegradable packaging starting from the macaúba palm: one made from the fruit's fiber, to replace polystyrene trays, and the other from the pulp, an alternative to plastic bags

In Brazil, food engineering is making possible an innovative advance: the use of the macaúba palm to replace conventional plastic and polystyrene packaging. Master’s student Carmen Guedes of the State University of Maringá (UEM) has managed to use the fruit and pulp of the macaúba (Acrocomia aculeata) to develop two types of eco-friendly packaging.

Converting Macaúba into biodegradable packaging

Carmen Guedes utilized macaúba fruit fiber to produce a biodegradable alternative to polystyrene trays, which are commonly utilized for food storage and transport.

“Macaúba is used for reforestation, so we can utilize its fruit for industry, replacing single-use plastic, which is not green,” says Guedes. She also developed a biodegradable alternative to plastic bags in the form of fruit pulp.

One of the most significant features of Guedes’s innovation is that it uses “active packaging,” which responds to food in order to decelerate oxidation and preserve freshness.

“It also possesses an antioxidant effect, preventing food from spoiling because of light and other factors that accelerate oxidation,” says Carmen Guedes.

Two types of sustainable macaúba packaging

Guedes developed two different types of packaging using the macaúba palm:

Polystyrene tray alternative: Made from the macaúba fruit fiber.

Plastic bag alternative: Made from the fruit pulp.

One of the main advantages of these biodegradable packages is their positive impact on the environment. Abandoned, they break down into plant-friendly fertilizer with no toxic residues left behind.

Research and development at UEM

The project is being undertaken in PEG’s New Product Development Laboratory and UEM’s main campus DAL. The research is an important contribution to the alleviation of plastic waste and the promotion of eco-friendly industrial practices.

Source: Nature Chemical Biology