Rice flour-based films: effects of type and solvent and plasticizer concentration

The use of rice flour as a polymer matrix for the development of biodegradable films is an economical alternative to the use of rice starch. In this work, the comparison of the type of solvent was evaluated in films made with rice flour using glycerol as a plasticizer (0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75 and 2 ml) and the substitution of water with 0.5N acetic acid as solvent by the casting method; For this, the response of the characteristics of thickness, solubility, water vapor permeability, FTIR, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and mechanical tests were evaluated. Noting that using acetic acid as a solvent favorably influences the characteristics of the films obtained, however, the concentration of glycerol from 50% w/w in relation to the mass of rice flour, generates a similar behavior for both solvents.

Keywords: Flour, rice, films, glycerol, water and acetic acid.