5. Potential in the Packaging Application
Shellac is a resin primarily used in varnishes nowadays, but its applications are not limited. The benefit of Shellac as a primer, binder, coating, glaze enhancer, adhesive, cosmetics, food, pharmaceutical products, textiles, adhesives, plastic, rubber, leather, fertilizers, seeds, fruits, wood, pyrotechnics, printer inks, paints, and confectionery depends on the properties and grade of Shellac, which is best suited for the specific products. Aside from these applications, Shellac has been researched for packaging applications, but this has been limited to 20 publications till 2022, as shown in Figure 5. Those 20 publications account for 1.56% of the articles covering bio-based polymers for packaging applications. However, although the publications are few in number, they are increasing year by year.
Figure 5.
Increase in number of publications on Shellac usage in packaging. The search was limited to TOPICS in Web of Science, and the keywords used were Shellac and Packaging.
Shellac has been blended with various biopolymers to impede the aging the shellac; these biopolymers includes pea starch/guar gum
[27], KGM
[28], CMC
[29], and SPI
[30], Shellac has been used as reinforcement to strengthen the water barrier, oxygen barrier, and mechanical properties, which are crucial for the majority of food packaging applications. Shellac, a useful reinforcement material for food packaging, also boosted the temperature tolerance of the packaging film
[28]. To retain the integrity of the packaged product, Shellac has been researched in active packaging alongside olive leaf/grape pomace extract
[31] and pine needle essential oil
[32] as a coating solution. Eggs were coated with Shellac and pine needle essential oil to preserve the eggs, improve the ultraviolet resistance, and increase the water and oxygen barrier performance
[32]. Additionally, eugenol was added to PVP/shellac fiber films for the packaging of strawberries
[33]. Moreover, to extend the shelf life of fruits, 1-Methylcyclopropene was applied on paper as a coating material using Shellac as a base matrix
[34].
Shellac’s potential among traditional crude-based polymers and conventional bio-based polymers must be demonstrated by properties critical to packaging, such as melting temperature, tensile stress, elongation at break, contact angle, and WVPC. Table 1 compares Shellac to different polymers and indicates that Shellac has mixed qualities when compared to other traditional crude-based and bio-based polymers. Shellac has a melting point of roughly 75 °C, similar to polycaprolactone (PCL). Because of this lower melting temperature, Shellac is suitable for solid packaging products or cold liquids. In terms of mechanical properties, the tensile strength of shellac film is similar to that of Polyethylene (PE). The elongation at break is only 3.05%, making it unsuitable for flexible packaging applications. However, the literature has shown that the addition of PEG 35,000 increases the elongation at break to 170%, which is better than PET, polylactic acid (PLA), and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)-co-(4-hydroxybutyrate) (P3HB4HB). Shellac’s intrinsic hydrophobicity makes it more competitive with other biopolymers, such as PLA, P3HB4HB, and PCL. The contact angle of Shellac is comparable to that of PE, PET, and polypropylene (PP). The contact angle provides information regarding surface wettability; good water barrier qualities, such as WVPC, are required for the package to preserve the goods. When comparing the WVPC, Shellac has a greater WVPC (lower barrier) than standard PE and PP. However, the barrier is equivalent to PET in other crude-based polymers. Compared to bio-based polymers, Shellac has two times and six times greater barriers than PCL and PLA.
In addition to PCL, PLA, and P3HB4HB, other edible bio-based polymers, such as starch, gelatin, pectin, chitosan, and guar gum, are compared to Shellac in
Table 2
. In terms of tensile strength, shellac film is better than starch and pectin. However, gelatin, chitosan, and guar gum have higher tensile strength. Shellac, when modified with acrylic, has a similar tensile strength to chitosan but can reach a tensile value similar to guar gum or gelatin. However, Shellac has a similar elongation at break to gelatin but has smaller values than the other edible bio-based polymers mentioned. However adding PEG 35,000 increases the elongation at break to 170%, which is better than starch, gelatin, pectin, chitosan, and guar gum. Shellac’s intrinsic hydrophobicity makes it highly competitive with these edible polymers. The contact angle of Shellac is more than the other edible polymers mentioned, and it is worth noting that the WVPC of Shellac is 33 to 44 times lower than guar gum and 8 to 10 times lower than gelatin, showing superior hydrophobicity when compared to all the other edible bio-based polymers mentioned. Therefore, Shellac has untapped potential for packaging applications, including food packaging, due to its non-toxic nature.
Table 2. Comparative analysis of Shellac with edible bio-based polymer used in packaging.