Biomass blends enable the thermomechanical production of multipurpose and eco-friendly porous structures in sanitary items

Several single-use consumer products contain porous, non-biodegradable petroleum-based plastics that negatively impact the environment. For example, single-use sanitary pads are now considered the main plastic pollutant in household waste, especially where waste management policies are weak. Here, we have obtained bioblends of proteins and lignocellulosic biomass forming porous structures that can be thermally processed using common plastic processing techniques. The adequate viscoelastic properties of the blends made it possible to produce porous filaments, pellets, permeable membranes and hot-pressed flexible shapes. The materials were assembled into a first all-in-one protein-based sanitary pad. The hydrolytic degradation in different buffer conditions and composting showed full biodegradability in less than 7 weeks, which allows for an initial step into making single-use sanitary products that can be flushed. The study included a cost assessment of the materials compared with traditional synthetic commercial materials and showed that all the recipes have a competitive price, with the raw materials being industrially available for future upscaling.