Manuela Vargas Rojas

Growing concerns about ocean contamination from fossil fuel based polymers have created a demand for biodegradable alternatives, particularly for packaging applications. Thermoplastic starch (TPS) is a promising, eco-friendly biopolymer but has poor mechanical properties and high hydrophilicity. To address these issues, this article explores modifying starches through reactive extrusion and ble...

To address plastic pollution from fossil fuel polymers, biodegradable alternatives like starch and polybutylene succinate (PBS) are proposed. However, starch is hydrophilic, while PBS and PBSA are hydrophobic. This research investigates the use of dicumyl peroxide (DCP) and tartaric acid (TA) as coupling agents in blends of thermoplastic starch (TPS) and PBS/PBSA, with glycerol as a plasticizer...