Pine needles lignocellulosic ethylene scavenging paper impregnated with nanozeolite for active packaging applications

[Display omitted] •Pine needles lignocellulosic active paper incorporated with nanozeolite was fabricated.•The lignocellulosic paper showed improved water vapor transmission rate.•The lignocellulosic paper showed high ethylene scavenging properties.•Active pine needle based paper suitable for fresh produce active packaging.•Studies indicated valorization of pine needles biomass into paper fabrication. The pines needle falls approximately 2–3 ha−1 year−1 on the forest floors resulting in a considerable amount of lignocellulosic biowaste. The present study aimed to develop pine needles based lignocellulosic active paper and investigate the effect of 5, 20, and 30% (v/w) nano zeolite addition on the physical, mechanical, and microstructural property of the papers. The developed papers were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, and X-ray diffraction. As the zeolite concentration was increased from 5% to 30% in the paper, enhanced water permeability was seen from 5.18 ± 0.34 - 3.88 ± 0.33 g/cm2/day (PN/ZL 30% paper). The addition of 5% zeolite increased the tensile and burst strength from 19.53 ± 3.53 Nm/g and 3.63 ± 0.23 kg/cm2, respectively. The porosity was increased from 340 ± 20 to 1170 ± 60, and Cobb value increased from 338.3 ± 1.5- 406.7 ± 1.5 g/m2. The alterations in terms of surface microstructure in the paper with 20, 30% zeolite were noticed whereas XRD illustrated the high compatibility among the lignocellulosic network of pines and zeolite. The pine needle paper with 30% zeolite possessed remarkable ethylene scavenging properties (62%), opening a way to valorize pine needle waste for food packaging application.