Pomegranate peel pectin films as affected by montmorillonite

•Pectin extracted from pomegranate peels was used to make films.•Different contents of montmorillonite (MMT) were added to reinforce films.•MMT improved the tensile strength and modulus of films when added at up to 6 wt%.•The water vapor permeability decreased with increasing MMT contents up to 8 wt% MMT.

The industrial production of pomegranate juice has been favored by its alleged health benefits derived from its antioxidant properties. The processing of pomegranate juice involves squeezing juice from the fruit with the seeds and the peels together, leaving a pomace consisting of approximately 73 wt% peels. In this study, pectin was extracted from pomegranate peels, and used to produce films with different contents of montmorillonite (MMT) as a nanoreinforcement material. The nanoreinforcement improved the tensile strength and modulus of films when added at up to 6 wt%, while the further addition of MMT (to 8 wt%) reduced the reinforcement effect, probably because of dispersion problems. The elongation was decreased with increasing MMT concentrations. The water vapor permeability decreased with increasing MMT contents up to 8 wt% MMT, indicating that the increased tortuosity of the permeant path was effective on barrier properties of the film.