Genipap Oil as a Natural Cross-Linker for Biodegradable and Low-Ecotoxicity Porous Absorbents via Reactive Extrusion

Oct 3, 2026

Proteins from agroindustrial coproducts were processed with genipap oil (genipin-containing) as a natural cross-linker to create porous absorbents via reactive extrusion for replacing fossil-based materials. Genipap oil produced lightweight structures with high saline uptake exceeding 1000% and strong retention capacity. Cross-linked samples showed improved mechanical response, hemocompatibility, and soil biodegradation in under six weeks, with degradation compounds not toxic to soil and promoting grass growth.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Absorbent hygiene products and environmental impact

Superabsorbents and porous structures

Challenges with natural porous proteins and cross-linking

Rationale for genipap oil and reactive extrusion

Article contribution

First porous cross-linked biopolymer structure via reactive extrusion

This article is licensed under CC-BY 4.0 [pubs.acs.org/Biomac](pubs.acs.org/Biomac) Article Genipap Oil as a Natural Cross-Linker for Biodegradable and LowEcotoxicity Porous Absorbents via Reactive Extrusion Liliana B. Hurtado, * Mercedes Jiménez-Rosado, Maryam Nejati, Faiza Rasheed, Thomas Prade, Amparo Jiménez-Quero, Marcos A. Sabino, and Antonio J. Capezza * Cite This: Biomacromolecules 2024, 25, 7642−7659 Read Online ACCESS Metrics & More Article Recommendations *sı Supporting Information ABSTRACT: Proteins derived from agroindustrial coproducts and a natural cross-linking agent (genipap oil containing genipin) were used to develop porous materials by reactive extrusion for replacing fossil-based absorbents. Incorporating genipap oil allowed the production of lightweight structures with high saline uptake (above 1000%) and competing retention capacity despite their porous nature. The mechanical response of the genipap-crosslinked materials was superior to that of the noncross-linked ones and comparable to those cross-linked using commercial genipin. The extruded products were hemocompatible and soil-biodegrad able in less than 6 weeks. The compounds generated by the degradation process were not found to be toxic to the soil, showing a high bioassimilation capacity by promoting grass growth. The results demonstrate the potential of biopolymers and new green crosslinkers to produce fully renewable-based superabsorbents in hygiene products with low ecotoxicity. The study further promotes the production of these absorbents using low-cost proteins and continuous processing such as reactive extrusion. 1. INTRODUCTION Absorbent hygiene products (AHPs), such as baby diapers and sanitary napkins, are widely used because they enhance people’s quality of life. 1−3 AHPs are single-use, and more than half of their weight is made of synthetic polymers, resulting in poor degradability and even the release of microplastics and toxic molecules such as PFAS. 1−4 It is estimated that a typical sanitary pad can take up to 800 years to decompose completely, with current methods of disposing of these being incineration and/or landfilling.1,2 Quantifying the amount of AHP waste is complex as it depends on the social and economic conditions of the countries.2,3 However, estimates in the United Kingdom account that only sanitary napkins generate more than 6,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent GHG annually.3,4 For 2019, the world’s average annual production of AHP waste was 45·103 Mt.,2 which is almost two times as heavy as The Statue of Liberty. Using superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) and extruded polyurethane foams (PUR) in AHPs has reduced their weight by 44%, decreasing waste generation.1,2 Even so, contamination persists because SAPs have long degradation times or resources.4,6−10 In addition, generating porous structures is the most convenient route to produce absorbing structures as it does not require chemical modifications of the biopolymers, which in turn would elevate their GHG emissions above synthetic counterparts.11 Previous studies have shown that using coproducts from theagro-industrial sector, e.g., zein (Z) wheat gluten (WG), as a matrix can potentially reduce the carbon footprint of manufactured bioplastics as porous filaments.4 Further, reported thermoplastic materials based on proteins have shown the capacity to absorb and retain large volumes of fluids while exhibiting rapid degradation and high bioassimilation rates.4−8 However, a drawback when producing these natural porous structures is poor mechanical properties, requiring chemical cross-linking.12 A preferred nontoxic and efficient cross-linking agent of proteins is genipin (GEN), 13 but its high price would impair any trials of their production on a large scale. Recent studies showed the possibility of using novel genipin-rich extracts known as genipap oil (GO) to cross-link biopolymers at low temperatures.14 To our knowledge, no reports of

FAQs

How does genipap oil contribute to creating porous absorbents?

Genipap oil, containing genipin, acts as a natural cross-linking agent during reactive extrusion to form cross-linked porous structures from plant proteins.

What absorption and retention performance do the genipap-crosslinked materials achieve?

They produce lightweight porous structures with saline uptake above 1000% and competing retention capacity despite their porous nature.

What biodegradation and ecotoxicity results are reported for the extruded products?

The materials are hemocompatible and soil-biodegradable in less than 6 weeks, and degradation compounds were not found toxic to soil, supporting grass growth.

Oct 3, 2026

Uploaded by Lucas Martin