Preparation and properties of thermo-molded bioplastics of glutenin-rich fraction

The present work aims to prepare bioplastics from a glutenin-rich fraction; that is, the gluten residue insoluble in 70% (v/v) ethanol. The influence of reducing agents of sodium bisulfite, sodium sulfite and thioglycolic acid on the properties of the glycerol plasticized doughs and the cross-linked bioplastics were investigated. The results showed that reducing agents can be applied to reduce the Young's modulus of the plasticized dough and to improve the Young's modulus of the cross-linked bioplastics. Moisture absorption, weight loss in water, tensile strength, elongation at break and tensile set were studied to characterize the physical properties of the cross-linked bioplastics.