Influence of Glycerol Content on Properties of Wheat Gluten/Hydroxyethyl Cellulose Biocomposites

Environmentally friendly biocomposites were prepared by blending wheat gluten(WG) as a matrix, hydroxyethyl cellulose(HEC) as a filler, and glycerol as a plasticizer, followed by thermo-molding of the mixture at 120 °C for crosslinking the matrix. Moisture absorption, tensile properties, dynamic mechanical analysis, and dynamic rheology were evaluated in relation to the glycerol content. Tensile strength and modulus drop dramatically with increasing glycerol content, which is accompanied by significant depression in the glass transition temperature and improvement in the extensibility of the biocomposites.