Elaboration of a Bio-Colored Material Based on Natural Dye and Polybutylene Succinate: Comparative Study with Colored Polylactic Acid

In the context of sustainable development and natural products valorization, new ecological materials enter a logic aimed at removing the causes of pollution generated by synthetic dyes presented in food packaging. Natural dyes gain more attention to substitute the synthetic dyes in plastic materials. Therefore, we developed a new packaging biodegradable material by melting a natural dye and Polybutylene succinate (PBS) and varying the concentrations of dye. Thermal and morphological properties of the colored material have been studied. Colorimetric properties were investigated. The aging test was done to see the effect of UV irradiation on the colored mixture. The results show that the incorporation of the dye in polymer facilities their crystallization. Morphology of material shows a good dispersion of the dye in PBS. The irradiation under UV after one week shows that the material is resistant. Feasibility and results of dye incorporation in PBS are compared to those of a previous study using an amorphous Polyacid lactid (PLA) as a matrix and under similar conditions. Dye is well solubilized in the two matrix. With PLA, blends shows degradation at 130 °C while PBS blend’s is stable. The semi-crystalline polymer PBS gives to blend shades of deeper color compared to those with the amorphous PLA that is more transparent.