ARS | Publication request: Water vapor barrier and sorption properties of edible films from pullulan and rice wax.

Submitted to: American Chemical Society National Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 5, 2008
Publication Date: February 2, 2009
Citation: Shih, F.F., Champagne, E.T., Daigle, K.W. 2009. Water vapor barrier and sorption properties of edible films from pullulan and rice wax. American Chemical Society National Meeting.

Technical Abstract: Edible films were prepared by using various ratios of pullulan and rice wax. Freestanding composite films were obtained with up to 46.4% rice wax. Water vapor barrier properties of the film were improved with increased addition of rice wax. Moisture sorption isotherms were also studied to examine the impact of rice wax on the water sorption characteristics of the film. The Brunuer-Emmet-Teller (BET) and Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer (GAB) sorption models were tested to fit the experimental data. The models gave a good fit up to the water activity (Aw) of 0.55 for BET, and a full range of Aw from 0.12 to 0.95 for GAB (R2 = 0.98). Changes in the sorption parameters, particularly, in the decrease in monolayer moisture content (Mo), reflect the trend of reduced hydration capacity with increased addition of rice wax, providing useful information on water activity conditions to achieve stability for the composite films.