Effect of drying temperature and beeswax content on physical properties of whey protein emulsion films

Abstract

The objective of this work was to study the effect of drying temperature and the beeswax (BW) content on the physical properties of whey protein emulsion films. For this purpose, films were obtained by the casting method and dried at two selected temperatures (5 and 25 _C). Film thickness, water vapor permeability (WVP), solubility and mechanical properties were measured. The results showed that the decrease in drying temperature from 25 to 5 _C reduced the WVP and increased the solubility of the films containing BW. The effect of drying temperature on the mechanical properties was significant in the tensile test but not in the puncture test. The addition of BW decreased the WVP and the solubility and also had a significant effect on the evaluated parameters in both mechanical tests. In general, this effect was observed at both drying temperatures studied. Therefore, taking into account the several applications of the coatings the optimization of coating formulations and drying conditions is of vital importance.