Extrusion methods for manufacturing seaweed-based films and pellets
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a pellet or film, wherein the pellet or film comprises at least 30 wt % seaweed material, wherein the seaweed material comprises seaweed material derived from macro algae, and wherein the at least one plasticiser comprises water or at least one C—H bond.
1 . A method of manufacturing a pellet or film, the method comprising:
feeding seaweed material and at least two or more plasticisers into an extruder, and extruding in one step the seaweed material and the at least two or more plasticisers through a die to obtain a filament or the film, wherein the filament is pelletised to form the pellet;
wherein the seaweed material comprises seaweed material derived from macro algae;
wherein one of the at least two or more plasticisers is water, and another one of the at least two or more plasticisers is selected from the group consisting of triacetin, a polyol, a fatty acid, monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, ethanolamine, triethanolamine, vegetable oil, vegetable lecithin, plant lecithin, an amino acid, a surfactant and mixtures thereof; and
wherein the filament, the pellet or the film comprises at least 50 wt % of the seaweed material, more than 5 wt % of the at least two or more plasticisers, and less than 20 wt % of the water.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises drying the film, the pellet, and/or the filament.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the filament, the pellet and/or the film comprises less than 30 wt % of the at least two or more plasticisers.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least two or more plasticisers are a mixture of the water and glycerol.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least two or more plasticisers comprise glycerol and sorbitol.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises feeding a polysaccharide into the extruder, wherein the polysaccharide is starch.
7 . The method of claim 6 , wherein the starch is at least 5 wt % with respect to a total weight of the filament, the pellet, or the film.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the filament or pellet is 2 to 4 mm in diameter.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the seaweed material comprises one or a mixture of two or more of agar, carrageenan and alginate.
10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the seaweed material and the at least two or more plasticisers fed into the extruder comprise less than 5 wt % of synthetic polymers PLA, PP, HDPE, LDPE, PVOH, PHB or PVA.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a weight ratio between the seaweed material and the at least two or more plasticisers in the filament, the pellet and/or the film is less than 6:1.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the film has a thickness of 30 to 100 μm.
13 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the pellet or the filament or the film further comprises an additive selected from the group consisting of wax, insoluble fibers, potato protein, soy protein isolate, sunflower protein isolate, zein, pisumin, albumin, prolamin, globulin, glutenin, amandin, gluten, and natural gums.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises feeding into the extruder a composition comprising citric acid and a composition comprising agar.
15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the seaweed material and the at least two more plasticisers fed into the extruder comprise less than 1 wt % of the synthetic polymers PLA, PP, HDPE, LDPE, PVOH, PHB, PVA.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the polyol is selected from the group consisting of glycerol, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, sorbitol, mannitol, erythritol, maltitol, isomalt, lactitol and xylitol.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the fatty acid is selected from the group consisting of oleic acid, linoleic acid, stearic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid and combinations thereof.
18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein one of the at least two or more plasticisers is a monosaccharide.
19 . The method of claim 18 , wherein the monosaccharide is glucose, mannose, fructose, sucrose or dextrose.