Valorization of maize bran to obtain biodegradable plastic films

Cellulose-enriched residues from maize bran can be transformed into plastic films after esterification of the cellulose by various fatty acid chlorides. Alkali pretreatment and acidic activation of the sample are necessary before the esterification reaction in order to form esters. The degradation by microorganisms of the plastic film was also studied. We showed that the isolated strain (chromobacterium violaceum) can hydrolyze modified cellulose plastic films. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 74: 3040–3045, 1999