Production of biodegradable film from saffron corm waste and determination of its physical and chemical properties

To prepare a biodegradable film from saffron corm waste, the starch present in saffron corm waste was extracted and a film consisting of two levels of saffron corm starch (5 and 10%), and three types of plasticizers, glycerol, polyethylene glycol, and the combination of these two products were produced. Then, the morphological, biodegradability, physicochemical, and mechanical properties of the produced films were investigated with tests such as appearance and color, film texture, solubility in water and acid, permeability to water vapor, and determination of color components. The results were statistically analyzed under a two-factor factorial experiment in the form of a completely random design and it showed that the type of softener had no significant effect on water vapor permeability and color characteristics, the plastic texture containing glycerol had the highest tensile strength (724.9 MPa) compared to the other two types of softeners. Compared to the other two treatments, glycerol softener had the lowest solubility in water and acid and vapor permeability and the highest tensile strength (724.9 MPa). The film produced with a lower percentage of starch had water vapor permeability (12532.1 kgm-1s-1 Pa-1), solubility in water was 157 (percent) and film texture (3287.5 MPa) was lower compared to the higher percentage of starch (05 /0P<). Therefore, a 5% saffron corm starch and glycerol softener mixture has suitable physicochemical properties for film production.