Utilization of spent coffee grounds as fillers to prepare polypropylene
composites for food packaging applications
Abstract
Biomass-derived wastes as the additive of non-degradable plastics have
been paid more attention due to the ever-growing environmental pollution
and energy crisis. Herein, the spent coffee grounds (SCG) have been used
as fillers in polypropylene (PP) after the heat treatment to realize its
recycling utilization. The effect of the heat treatment atmosphere on
the properties of the obtained SCG and SCG/PP composites has been
investigated systematically. The results show that the residual coffee
oil can be removed more thoroughly under an air atmosphere than under a
nitrogen atmosphere at a relatively low cost and an eco-friendly
process. The lower residual oil rate of SCG is beneficial to improve the
comminution and further enhance the affinity with the PP matrix. The
obtained SCG/PP composite holds lower water absorption, higher
hydrophobicity, and better mechanical properties, implying its potential
applications in the field of food packaging.