Author(s)

Chizoba May Obele¹, Stanley Udochukwu Ofoegbu², Chioma Irene Awuzie³

¹Department of Polymer and Textile Engineering, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Nigeria.
²Department of Materials and Ceramic Engineering, CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, Portugal.
³Department of Science Laboratory Technology, Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Nigeria.

High methoxyl pectin (DE = 59.53%) was extracted from plantain peel using acid extraction method. Pectin yield was 40.5%; moisture content was 87.56%; equivalent weight was 1000 g/ml, and galacturonic acid content was 2.89 mg/ml. Composite polymer films incorporating the extracted pectin manifest their best mechanical properties; tensile strength and % elongation of 5.51 MPa and 5.75% respectively with 10 ml glycerol/1g pectin. Raman spectra peaks at 2930 cm¹, 1750 cm^–1 and 820 cm^–1 indicated CH-stretch, C=O ester group of pectin and COH ring in pectin respectively. Films containing pectin sourced from waste are considered potential alternative sources of environmentally benign packaging materials.

Composite Films, Waste, Bio Economy, Sustainable, Raw Materials

Obele, C. , Ofoegbu, S. and Awuzie, C. (2019) Extraction of Pectin from Ripe Plantain Peel, Fabrication and Characterization of Composite (Pectin/PVA/Glycerol) Films Produced from the Extracted Pectin. Journal of Minerals and Materials Characterization and Engineering, 7, 454-467. doi: 10.4236/jmmce.2019.76032.