Techno-Economic Evaluation of Polybutylene Adipate Terephthalate (PBAT)–Starch–Nanoclay Biodegradable Films for Sustainable Packaging Applications
Adsare Abhijeet Dnyandeo
*
Department of Processing and Food Engineering, VIAET, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj- 211007, Uttar Pradesh, India.
R.N. Shukla
Department of Processing and Food Engineering, VIAET, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj- 211007, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Genitha Immanuel
Department of Processing and Food Engineering, VIAET, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj- 211007, Uttar Pradesh, India.
A.K. Singh
Department of Processing and Food Engineering, VIAET, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj- 211007, Uttar Pradesh, India.
A.A. Mishra
Department of Processing and Food Engineering, VIAET, Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, Prayagraj- 211007, Uttar Pradesh, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Biodegradable packaging materials are increasingly popular as eco-friendly substitutes for petroleum-based plastics. This work assessed the techno-economic viability of PBAT–starch–nanoclay composite films made with different starch contents (5%, 10%, and 15%) and a constant 3% nanoclay and glycerol as a plasticizer. Component fractions were standardized in order to guarantee precise comparisons. The range of total production costs was ₹360.62/kg (T1) to ₹343.07/kg (T3). With increased starch substitution, variable costs dropped from ₹303.70/kg (T1) to ₹286.15/kg (T3), while fixed costs, as determined by the capital recovery factor (CRF), stayed the same at ₹56.92/kg. T3 provided the best economic viability, according to break-even analysis, needing the least amount of output (30,973 kg/year) and sales revenue (₹15,486,500/year) to cover yearly costs. These results demonstrate that using glycerol and nanoclay to partially replace PBAT with starch lowers material costs without sacrificing film performance. In this work, cost, processing, and formulation normalization are all optimized at the same time, which advances the development of sustainable PBAT-starch-nanoclay films for packaging applications.
Keywords: Biodegradable films, PBAT, techno-economic analysis, capital recovery factor (CRF), break-even analysis