Potential of banana based cellulose materials for advanced applications: A review on properties and technical challenges

Biocompatibility, biodegradability, and toxicity issues of synthetic polymers have propelled the search for environmentally friendly and non-toxic alternatives. In this context, biobased materials have gained much popularity due to their non-toxic, biodegradable, and sustainable nature. Bananas are considered as one of such natural material which fulfil the requirements to be tailored as a biocompatible biopolymer. Banana derived wastes can be used for extraction of commercially important biopolymers like starch, cellulose, nanocellulose and their subsequent utilization in wide variety of applications. Banana derived biopolymers and their bio composites and widely used for medical applications such as wound healing, fabrication of bone plates, cellulose based gate dielectrics, and capacitors for insulin pumps, and pacemakers. In addition, banana based nanocellulose can be used in tissue engineering, biosensing, drug delivery, bioimaging, wound healing, enzyme immobilization and preparation of tablets for oral administration. Moreover, banana-based polymers can be employed in applications such as food packaging, biofuel production, and production of multilayered papers. Considering the potential applications of banana-based nanomaterials, this review work is framed to understand the process of extraction of starch, cellulose, nanocellulose and biopolymers from banana derived wastes with specific emphasis on their extraction methods and composite preparation methods. In addition, it discusses in detail the promising and potential applications of the derived materials in health and environmental sectors. The presented review is a comprehensive discussion on banana-based waste conversion strategies to produce value added products useful in medical and environmental applications.