Obtaining biodegradable polymeric membrane from agroindustrial wastes using the electro-spinning method

Abstract

Sugarcane straw is a waste beneficial to man when used correctly. Its burning is highly destructive if carried out indiscriminately; it causes damage to the soil and emits charcoal particles that pass directly into the environment. Cellulose represents approximately one-third of its composition and is biosynthesized in the process of photosynthesis, producing about 1000 tons per year in the world. In recent years, the electro-pile technique is widely used for the production of polymer fibers with nanometer-to-micrometer diameters. This diameter size allows obtaining materials with large surface area, a desirable feature in the manufacture of membranes with potential application in separation and biomedical processes. The technique is versatile and easy to assemble which has allowed to process a great variety of polymers, integrating in the last years other kinds of materials, nevertheless during the development of the process exist a series of variables that influence in the characteristics of the obtained elements, Either because they are linked to the characteristics of the base material or because their performance is related to other parameters within the process. The objective of this research was to obtain biodegradable polymer membranes from sugar cane being attractive at the biotechnological level.