LAUSR

Wheat gluten based bioplastics with shrimp shell waste filler were prepared using compression molding. The effects of various amounts (0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 and 10 wt%) of shrimp shell powder and calcined shrimp shell powder on the tensile, morphological, thermal properties, and degradation of wheat gluten composites were investigated. The addition of shrimp shell powder improved the tensile properties of the wheat gluten composites. The tensile strength of the wheat gluten composite with 2.5 wt% of shrimp shell powder increased twofold compared to the wheat gluten based-bioplastic without shrimp shell loading. A comparison of the performance of the wheat gluten composites made with different shrimp shell types revealed that composites with calcined shrimp shell powder had better tensile, morphological and thermal properties due to the altered layer structure and higher mineral content resulting from calcination. Moreover, calcined shrimp shell powder had a significant influence on the degradation process of the wheat gluten composite.