1. Preparation and Characterization of Whey Protein-Based Polymers Produced from Residual Dairy Streams
- Author
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Bushra Chalermthai, Hanifa Taher, Wui Yarn Chan, Juan-Rodrigo Bastidas-Oyanedel, Jens Ejbye Schmidt, and Bradley D. Olsen
- Subjects
Whey protein ,Polymers and Plastics ,Radical polymerization ,Mechanical properties ,02 engineering and technology ,mechanical properties ,Methacrylate ,complex mixtures ,Article ,Whey protein isolate ,lcsh:QD241-441 ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,0404 agricultural biotechnology ,lcsh:Organic chemistry ,Copolymerization ,Ultimate tensile strength ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,biology ,PEGMA ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,General Chemistry ,Polymer ,whey protein ,Polyethylene ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,040401 food science ,copolymerization ,chemistry ,Chemical engineering ,Protein-based polymer ,biology.protein ,protein-based polymer ,0210 nano-technology ,Ethylene glycol - Abstract
The wide use of non-biodegradable, petroleum-based plastics raises important environmental concerns, which urges finding alternatives. In this study, an alternative way to produce polymers from a renewable source&mdash, milk proteins&mdash, was investigated with the aim of replacing polyethylene. Whey protein can be obtained from whey residual, which is a by-product in the cheese-making process. Two different sources of whey protein were tested: Whey protein isolate (WPI) containing 91% protein concentration and whey protein concentrate (WPC) containing 77% protein concentration. These were methacrylated, followed by free radical polymerization with co-polymer poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (PEGMA) to obtain polymer sheets. Different protein concentrations in water (11&ndash, 14 w/v%), at two protein/PEGMA mass-ratios, 20:80 and 30:70, were tested. The polymers made from WPI and WPC at a higher protein/PEGMA ratio of 30:70 had significantly better tensile strength than the one with lower protein content, by about 1&ndash, 2 MPa (the best 30:70 sample exhibited 3.8 ±, 0.2 MPa and the best 20:80 sample exhibited 1.9 ±, 0.4 MPa). This indicates that the ratio between the hard (protein) and soft (copolymer PEGMA) domains induce significant changes to the tensile strengths of the polymer sheets. Thermally, the WPI-based polymer samples are stable up to 277.8 ±, 6.2 °, C and the WPC-based samples are stable up to 273.0 ±, 3.4 °, C.
- Published
- 2019
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