Structure and thermal stability of thermoplastic films based on wheat flour modified by monoglyceride

The effects of the incorporation of monoglyceride on the structure and thermal stability of extruded thermoplastic films based on modified wheat flour have been investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and thermogravimetric method (TGA). Addition of the monoglyceride reduced the intensity and widened the peaks obtained by XRD indicating a reduction in crystal size. A significant decrease of apparent length of the crystals have been noticed when the quantity of monoglyceride increases. The thermal analysis proved that the thermal stability of the polymeric material decreases as a function of the monoglyceride content. Finally an attempt is made to correlate the thermal stability of the polymeric materials, with the degree of crystallinity.