Nowadays, substituting petroleum-based plastics with biodegradable polymers made from polysaccharides loaded with various reinforcing materials has recently gained attention due to the impact of conventional plastics wastes. In this study, polysaccharidic mucilage from Ethiopian cactus (Opuntia Ficus Indica) was derived using microwave-assisted extraction technique to develop biodegradable polymers that were inexpensive, readily available, simple to make, and ecofriendly. The effect of microwave power 300–800 W, solid-liquid (cactus-sodium hydroxide solution) ratio 1:5–1:25, sodium hydroxide concentration 0.1–0.8 mol/L, and extraction time 2–10 min on mucilage extraction were studied and the maximum yield of mucilage was attained at optimized parameters of 506 W, 1:20, 0.606 mol/L, and 9.5 min, respectively. Biodegradable polymers made with mucilage alone have poor mechanical characteristics and are thermally unstable. Thus, to overcome the stated problems, glycerol as a plasticizer and acid-leached kaolin crosslinked with urea as a reinforcing material were used. Moreover, the effect of acid-leached kaolin and glycerol on the physico-chemical properties of the films was studied, and a maximum tensile strength of 6.74 MPa with 18.45 % elongation at break, thermally improved biodegradability of 26 %, were attained at 10 % acid-leached kaolin and 20 % glycerol crosslinking with 2 % urea. But the maximum degradability of 53.5 % was attained at 30 % glycerol content. The control and reinforced biodegradable films were characterized using TGA, FTIR, SEM, and XRD to determine the thermal, functional group, morphology, and crystallinity of the bioplastics, respectively. These biodegradable plastics may be used for packaging application.

The rising demand for onion production results in significant waste, harming the environment. Onion waste is unsuitable for animal feed and difficult to dispose of due to its strong odor and potential for phytopathogen growth. Pyrolysis is a promising method for repurposing food waste, requiring minimal infrastructure and offering rapid processing and environmental benefits. The main goal of this study was to examine the potential of onion peel as a viable and sustainable pyrolysis feedstock by utilizing kinetic and thermodynamic studies. This study utilized a thermal analyzer to investigate the thermal decomposition of onion peel waste in a nitrogen atmosphere at heating rates of 15, 20, and 25°C/min, from room temperature to 800°C. The study applied four model‐free isoconversional kinetic techniques—Kissinger–Akahira–Sunose (KAS), Flynn–Wall–Ozawa (FWO), Starink (STK), and Friedman (FR)—to analyze the relationship between activation energy (Eα) and the degree of conversion ( α ). The average activation energies from KAS, FWO, STK, and FR were 81.22 kJ/mole, 89.06 kJ/mole, 83.64 kJ/mole, and 68.14 kJ/mole, respectively. The reaction mechanism of thermally degraded onion peel follows one‐dimensional diffusion, three‐dimensional diffusion, power law, exponent power first‐order, exponent power second‐order, first‐ and third‐order reactions, and Avrami–Erofeev reaction mechanism models. Thus, onion peel is a promising feedstock for bioenergy generation due to its low energy barrier and activation energy.