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Monitoring humidity and temperature is critical for many applications, including enhancing food production in greenhouses and open farms. This demands for environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and biocompatible sensors. Paper-based sensors meet these requirements as they are cost-effective, eco-friendly, and adaptable to varying agricultural conditions due to their affordability, biodegradability, and flexibility. This research developed printed capacitance-based humidity and resistance-based temperature sensors using a dry additive nanomanufacturing technique on four distinct types of commercially available uncoated paper substrates. Based on the principles of a capacitor and resistor, humidity and temperature sensors were fabricated by printing silver interdigitated electrodes on papers with varying solubility and thicknesses to measure the humidity absorption capability and the printed silver electrode’s response to temperature change. The sensors successfully detected the changes in relative humidity levels from 20 to 90% and temperature variations from 25 to 50 °C. The humidity and temperature sensors developed in this study have strong implications for use in smart agricultural applications, food supply, food storage, and preservation. Since these sensors are affordable, biodegradable, and environmentally friendly, they can be intended for one- or two-time applications and safely disposed of after use.
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Recent advances in starch‐based films toward food packaging applications: Physicochemical, mechanical, and functional properties
Abstract Interest in starch‐based films has increased precipitously in response to a growing demand for more sustainable and environmentally sourced food packaging materials. Starch is an optimal candidate for these applications given its ability to form thermoplastic materials and films with affordable and often sustainably sourced plasticizers like those produced as waste byproducts by biodiesel and agricultural industries. Starch is also globally ubiquitous, affordable, and environmentally benign. Although the process of producing starch films is relatively straightforward, numerous factors, including starch source, extraction method, film formulation, processing methods, and curing procedures, drastically impact the ultimate material properties. The significant strides made from 2015 to early 2020 toward elucidating how these variables can be leveraged to improve mechanical and barrier properties as well as the implementation of various additives or procedural modifications are cataloged in this review. Advances toward the development of functional films containing antioxidant, antibacterial, or spoilage indicating components to prevent or signal the degradation of food products are also discussed.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1708844
- PAR ID:
- 10455272
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety
- Volume:
- 19
- Issue:
- 6
- ISSN:
- 1541-4337
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 3031-3083
- Size(s):
- p. 3031-3083
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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