@article{upadhyay_agbesi_arafat_urdaneta_dey_basak_hong_umeileka_argyropoulos_2024, title={Bio-based smart packaging: Fundamentals and functions in sustainable food systems}, volume={145}, ISSN={0924-2244}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2024.104369}, DOI={10.1016/j.tifs.2024.104369}, abstractNote={The packaging industry ensures that products are safe, minimizing waste while extending shelf life. Bio-based smart packaging has the potential to achieve both sustainability and real-time monitoring of food quality, resulting in environmental and health benefits. Smart packaging that integrates interactive technologies to extend the shelf life of perishable foods has been the subject of increasing research. Traditional packaging potentially contributes to environmental pollution and littering due to its limited biodegradability. Consequently, there is a rising demand for sustainable alternatives. The demand is driven by changing consumer expectations, product complexity, and attitudes toward sustainability. Therefore, this review examines the general principles, mechanisms, and prospects of sustainable smart packaging materials, such as wood-based, protein-based, and microbial-based polymers. In this account, the significance of bio-based smart packaging in the food industry is emphasized by describing the various scientific operating principles that such novel indicators are based on, such as pH and gas indicators, biosensors, Time-Temperature indicators (TTI), and gas sensors; all focused at improving food product quality and safety. Compared to conventional fossil-based packaging materials, most bio-based smart packaging offers similar functionality. These latest-developed materials improve the safety, effectiveness, and sustainability of packaged food distribution and consumption. Therefore, this review can serve as a valuable resource for researchers, manufacturers, and consumers in reducing environmental impact and promoting sustainable food packaging practices.}, journal={Trends in Food Science & Technology}, publisher={Elsevier BV}, author={Upadhyay, Aakash and Agbesi, Phillip and Arafat, Kazi Md Yasin and Urdaneta, Fernando and Dey, Moumita and Basak, Munmun and Hong, Shiyao and Umeileka, Chisom and Argyropoulos, Dimitris}, year={2024}, month={Mar}, pages={104369} }
 @article{vivas_pifano_vera_urdaneta_urdaneta_forfora_abatti_phillips_dasmohapatra_saloni_et al._2024, title={Understanding the potential of bamboo fibers in the USA: A comprehensive techno-economic comparison of bamboo fiber production through mechanical and chemical processes}, volume={6}, ISSN={["1932-1031"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.2652}, DOI={10.1002/bbb.2652}, abstractNote={Abstract The growing interest in bamboo fibers for pulp, paper, and board production in the USA necessitates a comprehensive financial viability assessment. This study conducts a detailed technoeconomic analysis (TEA) of bamboo fiber production, primarily for the consumer hygiene tissue market although it is also applicable to other industrial uses. The economic viability of two pulping methods – alkaline peroxide mechanical pulping (APMP) and ammonium bisulfite chemical pulping (ABS) – was explored within three different pulp mill settings to supply pulp to two nonintegrated tissue and towel mills in South Carolina, USA. The target was to produce wet lap bamboo bleached pulp at 50% consistency and 70% ISO brightness. Despite higher initial capital invesment and operating costs, ABS achieved a lower minimum required selling price – USD 544 to 686 per bone dry metric ton (BDt = 1000 BDkg) – in comparison with USD 766 to 899 BDt −1 for APMP. This price advantage is partly due to an additional revenue stream (lignosulfonate byproduct), which not only boosts revenue but also circumvents the need for expensive chemical recovery systems. When compared with traditional kraft pulping, both methods require significantly lower capital investments, with minimum required selling prices (estimated to achieve 16% IRR) below current market rates for extensively used bleached kraft pulps in the USA tissue industry. The economic benefits derive from several factors: the low cost of bamboo as raw material, reduced capital needs for new pulping technologies, lower transportation costs from the pulp mill to tissue and towel manufacturing facilities, and the high market price of bleached kraft pulp.}, journal={BIOFUELS BIOPRODUCTS & BIOREFINING-BIOFPR}, author={Vivas, Keren A. and Pifano, Alonzo and Vera, Ramon E. and Urdaneta, Fernando and Urdaneta, Isabel and Forfora, Naycari and Abatti, Camilla and Phillips, Richard B. and Dasmohapatra, Sudipta and Saloni, Daniel and et al.}, year={2024}, month={Jun} }
 @article{vera_vivas_urdaneta_franco_sun_forfora_frazier_gongora_saloni_fenn_et al._2023, title={Transforming non-wood feedstocks into dissolving pulp via organosolv pulping: An alternative strategy to boost the share of natural fibers in the textile industry.}, volume={429}, ISSN={["1879-1786"]}, url={https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139394}, DOI={10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.139394}, abstractNote={This work evaluates wheat straw, switchgrass, and hemp hurd as potential alternatives for producing dissolving pulp using sulfur dioxide (SO2)-ethanol-water (SEW) pulping. The SEW process is described in detail for wheat straw, and the best pulping conditions for this feedstock were 130 °C, 4 h, and 10% SO2 concentration, comprised in a sulfur-ethanol-water ratio of 10-45-45. This resulted in a viscose-grade pulp with 93% α-cellulose, 2.0% hemicelluloses, <0.1% lignin, 0.2% ash content, and a viscosity of 4.7 cP. The best pulping conditions for wheat straw were applied to switchgrass and hemp hurd. Wheat straw and switchgrass had similar pulp quality, while hemp hurd pulp had a higher hemicellulose content and lower viscosity. This work suggests that non-wood feedstocks such as wheat straw and switchgrass can be promising alternatives for dissolving pulp production, which can help reduce the pressure on the textile industry to increase the use of natural fibers and mitigate the environmental impact of non-biodegradable synthetic fibers.}, journal={JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION}, author={Vera, Ramon E. and Vivas, Keren A. and Urdaneta, Fernando and Franco, Jorge and Sun, Runkun and Forfora, Naycari and Frazier, Ryen and Gongora, Stephanie and Saloni, Daniel and Fenn, Larissa and et al.}, year={2023}, month={Dec} }