Assessment of the Morphology and Interaction of PHBV/Clay Bionanocomposites: Uses as Food Packaging

Summary The production of plastic waste has caused serious environmental impacts. Since the conventional polymers represent one of the largest percentages of waste, a possible solution for this environmental problem is the use of nanoclay‐biopolymers for the preparation of food packaging. The objective of this study was to evaluate the morphological structure of poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐3‐hydroxyvalerate) bionanocomposites and vermiculite through scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and to verify their packaging/food interaction through the total migration test. The systems were prepared with natural clay and organophilic clay by melt intercalation technique. The migration test was carried out according to the Resolution 105/99 by ANVISA. The SEM micrographs showed a small number of agglomerates for the natural systems and a more uniform structure for the organophilic systems. The migration results of all systems were within the maximum allowable limit for food packages, indicating a possible use of these materials without causing damage to food security.