Solar Energy for Reducing the Cost of Natural Food Contact Materials Formed by the Arecanut Leaf Sheath

Abstract

The problem with plastic packaging is globally recognized, as plastic packages often end up in landfills without degrading. Using packages made from natural materials is the best choice to address and sustainably solve this issue. In this work, a single-use container (tray) was prepared from arecanut leaf sheath through a hot-compression molding process. The electrical energy required for the compression molding process was obtained from mainly electricity and 3 kW solar cells, reducing the cost by more than 50%, depending on the mold size and operating temperature. The pressing of arecanut leaf sheaths through a two-roll mill for 20 cycles at a high temperature (80 °C) before the compression molding process can increase the mechanical properties of the tray container. The tensile strength of the leaf sheath tray was higher than for polystyrene (PS) and polypropylene (PP) commercial trays. Reducing bacterial contamination of the plates can be achieved by using ultraviolet (UV) light. Almost all bacteria were reduced from 410 CFU/g to ˂10 CFU/g after UV exposure (40 μW/cm²) for 10 min. This suggests the possibility of using arecanut leaf sheath plates as food contact material, especially in single-use container applications.