A biologically based film made from natural ingredients found in plants, mushrooms, and food waste. Credit: ACS Applied Polymer Materials (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.5c02909

Plastic packaging is ubiquitous in our world, with its waste winding up in landfills and polluting oceans, where it can take centuries to degrade.

To ease this environmental burden, industry has worked to adopt renewable biopolymers in place of traditional plastics. However, developers of sustainable packaging have faced hurdles in blocking out moisture and oxygen, a barrier critical for protecting food, pharmaceuticals, and sensitive electronics.

Now, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a biologically-based film made from natural ingredients found in plants, mushrooms, and food waste that can block moisture and oxygen as effectively as conventional plastics. Their findings were recently published in ACS Applied Polymer Materials.

“We’re using materials that are already abundant in nature and degrade there to produce packaging that won’t pollute the environment for hundreds or even thousands of years,” said Carson Meredith, a professor in Georgia Tech’s School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE@GT) and executive director of the Renewable Bioproducts Institute. “Our films, composed of biodegradable components, rival or exceed the performance of conventional plastics in keeping food fresh and safe.”

Meredith’s research team has worked for more than a decade to develop environmentally friendly oxygen and water barriers for packaging. While earlier research using biopolymers showed promise, high humidity continued to weaken the barrier properties.

However, Meredith and his collaborators found a fix using a blend of these natural ingredients: cellulose (which gives plants their structure), chitosan (derived from crustacean-based food waste or mushrooms), and citric acid (from citrus fruits).

“By cross-linking these materials and adding a heat treatment, we created a thin film that reduced both moisture and oxygen transmission, even in hot, humid conditions simulating the tropics,” said lead author Yang Lu, a former postdoctoral researcher in ChBE@GT.

The barrier technology developed by the researchers consists of three primary components: a carbohydrate polymer for structure, a plasticizer to maintain flexibility, and a water-repelling additive to resist moisture. When cast into thin films, these ingredients self-organize at the molecular level to form a dense, ordered structure that resists swelling or softening under high humidity.

Even at 80% relative humidity, the films showed extremely low oxygen permeability and water vapor transmission, matching or outperforming common plastics such as poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(ethylene vinyl alcohol) (EVOH).

“Our approach creates barriers that are not only renewable, but also mechanically robust, offering a promising alternative to conventional plastics in packaging applications,” said Natalie Stingelin, professor and chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and a professor in ChBE@GT.

More information: Yang Lu et al, Transforming Renewable Carbohydrate-Based Polymers into Oxygen and Moisture Barriers at Elevated Humidity, ACS Applied Polymer Materials (2025). DOI: 10.1021/acsapm.5c02909

Citation: Bio-based film matches traditional plastic packaging in blocking moisture and oxygen (2025, November 10) retrieved 10 November 2025 from https://phys.org/news/2025-11-bio-based-traditional-plastic-packaging.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.