Biobased Films Using Ecuadorian Agro-industrial Residues - In the Framework of a Circular Bioeconomy, Circular Engineering, and Sustainability

The valorization of forestry, agricultural, agro-industrial, and municipal bioresidues and byproducts aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, driving the emergence of Green Chemistry, Circular Bioeconomy (CBE), and Circular Engineering (CEng) approaches. These novel solutions favor the application of CBE in Chemical Engineering to replace nonrenewable materials and fossil-based products with sustainable use of renewable bioresources. Tons of bioresidues and by-products from forest, agriculture and food industries are generated annually worldwide, and their improper disposal negatively affects the environment. Efforts have made to add value to this residual biomass by reincorporated them into production chains as important feedstocks of bioproducts and biopolymers. Proper agro-industrial residues management plays a significant role in achieving several SDGs. In Ecuador, agro-industrial waste exceeds 2 million tons per year, providing a considerable raw material source for generating new bio-based products and materials through green technologies. In this study, we produced four biofilm prototypes using representative Ecuadorian agro-industrial residues such as avocado seeds (Persea americana, Fuerte variety), green plantain peels (Musa paradisiaca), mango cotyledons (Mangifera indica L.), cocoa pod husks (Theobroma cacao L.), and vegetable ivory (Phytelephas aequatorialis) meal residues; and characterized them through TGA, XRD, tensile strength and biodegradation techniques. The results showed that these bioresidues could be used to generate biobased films. From the resulting prototypes, the avocado seed film turned out to be the most resistant and with the best physical properties, representing a starting point for future studies and applications. Challenges need to be overcome to improve the mechanical properties of these materials, to be suitable for industrial applications.