Journal Article

Multi-objective Optimization of PVA/TiO2/MMT Mixed Matrix Membrane for Food Packaging

Sadrnia, Hassan, Rohani, Abbas, Hosseini, Fereshte, Zamanian, Maryam, Thibault, Jules, Khojastehpour, Mehdi

2023

Overview

Nanocomposite film performance parameters, including barrier and mechanical properties for packaging films, can be affected by variables such as the type and the concentration of nanoparticles. In food packaging, it is desired to develop optimal films to maintain the freshness of food for longer periods. In this investigation, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanocomposite films were prepared by solution casting method with different combinations of Montmorillonite (MMT) platelets and titanium oxide (TiO2) spherical nanoparticles. A support vector machine (SVM) was implemented to study the thin nanocomposite films’ behavior to changes in the independent variables. The SVM model predicted oxygen transmission rate (OTR), water vapor permeability (WVP|), Young ̓s Modulus (YM), total color difference (ΔE), opacity, tensile strength (TS), and elongation at the breakpoint (EB) with an error of less than 6.4%. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) was applied to find the optimal nanoparticle concentration to achieve the optimum film performance. Results have clearly shown that the optimum film performance depends on the type and the concentration of nanoparticles. In this investigation, results showed that the optimum loading of nanoparticles should be between 0.5 and 1.0 wt% for TiO2 and 2.5–3.5 wt% for MMT.

• Publisher: Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Elongation / Food packaging / Genetic algorithms / Independent variables / Mechanical properties / Modulus of elasticity / Montmorillonite / Multiple objective analysis / Nanocomposites / Nanoparticles / Opacity / Optimization / Permeability / Polyvinyl alcohol / Support vector machines / Tensile strength / Thin films / Titanium dioxide / Titanium oxide / Titanium oxides / Water vapor