Papers by Keyword: Biodegradable Plastic

Abstract: The increased use of plastics has become a major environmental problem, especially during this pandemic. Plastics have generated many problems, particularly waste disposal, which made the researchers aimed to develop biodegradable plastic through fruit waste material, avocado seeds. From a total of 3 kilograms of the avocado seed, starch was extracted through the traditional starch extraction method. There were three groups with the same ingredients but differing in their concentration; the relationship between the proportion of the ingredients and their respective differences was seen by using ANOVA and Post hoc tests. The samples have undergone a tensile strength test following ASTM D882. From the results, the best experimental group was the group with 40 grams of starch, 20 grams of polyvinyl alcohol, and 10 grams of used cooking oil; however, it is different from the biodegradable plastic bags used as the control group. It could be deduced that it is possible to make biodegradable plastic out of Avocado seed starch that is biodegradable, water-soluble, and non-toxic. However, further analysis may be conducted to provide physical features as commercial plastics.

Abstract: The aim of this work is the improvement of mechanical properties of oil palm fiber (OPF) reinforced polylactic acid (PLA) composites by using sodium hydroxide (NaOH) treatment. NaOH concentrations (0 to 15 %wt.) and treatment times (0 to 30 min) were varied to determine the suitable condition for surface treatment of OPF. Aspect ratio (L/D) and the surface texture of OPF were investigated by using an optical microscope and scanning electron microscope (SEM), respectively. The result suggested that the most suitable condition for surface treatment of OPF was NaOH concentration of 10 %wt. at immersion time of 20 min. Aspect ratio and surface roughness of OPF increased after alkali treatment. For the effect of alkali treatment on the mechanical properties of the composite, it was evaluated by tensile and impact testings and SEM technique. The results showed that surface treatment with NaOH led to enhance mechanical properties of the composite due to improvement of interfacial adhesion.

Abstract: The low degradability behaviour of plastics is an important environmental problem. The end-use of plastic creates waste-disposal problems as these plastics do not readily or naturally degrade and gives severe effect when plastic-waste requires more time to break down. However, as the bio-polymer industries have advanced, biodegradable plastic is being presented as a high promising solution to the environmental problem over the conventional non-biodegradable plastics. As one of the great innovation products in bio-polymer industries, biodegradable plastic can potentially lessen the volume of solid waste and reduce the need for waste dumping sites. Whilst, biodegradable plastic also offers the outstanding properties to resist the brittleness and resistance towards heat. This paper review the potential of biodegradable plastics made from petrochemical-polymers blended with starch, including polyethylene (PE), polycaprolactone (PCL), polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

Abstract: The starch of artocarpus heterophyllus lam seeds was mixed with distilled water into a solution. The biodegradable plastics were made of starch, glycerol, and chitosan on the different volume fraction of glycerol at mixing temperature 80°C. The effect of glycerol addition on the microstructures, crystal structures, mechanical strength and thermal properties of specimens are completely reported. They were prepared based on the different volume fraction of glycerol, i.e., 2, 4 dan 6 (%Vol). The crystal structures of biodegradable plastic films were investigated using x-ray diffractometer and their thermal properties were analyzed employing thermogravimetric analysis. The biodegradabilities of specimens were obtained by soil burial test method using microorganisms. The maximum mechanical strength of biodegradable plastics is obtained about 4,7 MPa.

Abstract: To improve the miscibility of native rice starch granules and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate)(PBAT), rice starch was hydrolyzed by a mixture of α-amylase and amyloglucosidase. The obtained porous rice granular starch was then mechanically blended with PBAT by single screw extruder. Many pits and holes on the surface of starch granules were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The rough surface of the rice starch granules improved the compatibility of the polymers in the blends, which consequently increased the tensile strength and the elongation at break. In addition, SEM also revealed that the porous granules were homogeneously distributed in the polymer matrix with no appearance of gaps.

Abstract: This paper revealed the compostability of poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and PLA/starch blends with various amounts of starch contents. The results showed that the ultimate aerobic biodegradation under controlled composting conditions of PLA and PLA/starch with 30, 50 and 70 wt% starch contents were 83.43%, 84.28%, 88.04% and 95.83%, respectively. Under the same testing conditions, the biodegradation of cellulose, as a positive material, was 84.89%. In the disintegration testing, the tested materials were completely biodegraded and no residuals were observed through visual inspection after 30 days. In ecotoxicity test, the rate of germination and plant growth of monocotyledon and dicotyledon on the resulting compost were no significant different when compared to blank compost under. It can be concluded that the PLA and PLA/starch blends were clearly safe for the ecosystem. Furthermore, these materials were biodegradable and compostable materials as they pass all requirements of ISO 17088.

Abstract: To improve the thermal behavior of cellulose diacetate, cellulose diacetate-graft-poly(lactic acid) copolymers (CDA-g-PLAs) were synthesized by ring-opening polymerization of L-lactide using stannous octoate (Sn(Oct)2) as catalyst. The molecular structure of the copolymer was characterized by FT-IR and 1H-NMR and the thermal properties were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTA). The results showed that the product was grafted copolymer of cellulose diacetate-graft-poly(lactic acid) with different side-chain structure. The thermal processing properties of CDA-g-PLAs are remarkably improved with melting temperature(Tm) about 140°C which lower than that of CDA and decomposition temperature (Td) higher than 260°C.

Abstract: Soy protein based biodegradable polyurethane (PU) foams were prepared by incorporating soy protein isolate (SPI) into flexible PU foam. The effects SPI content and isocyanate index on the density, resilience, compression set, and biodegradability of the soy protein based PU foams were investigated. The results showed that, soy protein enhanced the compression set, resilience, and biodegradability of PU foams, but increased the density. Furthermore, soy protein can increase open cell proportion in the soy protein based flexible PU foams, and then regulate their properties. The density and compression set value of the soy protein based PU foams decreased with increase in isocyanate index, while the resilience increased. The biodegradability of soy protein based flexible PU foam makes it a prospective material for disposable usage.

Abstract: The performance and biodegradability of plant fibre and starch dishware (PFSD), pulp model dishware (PMD) and starch plastic dishware (SPD) were studied. The experimental results showed that these three kinds of dishware satisfy the requirements of use. The fungi growth degree and the weight loss percentage of these materials were analyzed. The experimental results showed that the growth grade of PFSD and PMD were both Ⅴgrade and the weight loss rate respectively were 41.59% and 82.73%, the biodegradability of SPD was not obviously observed in the whole process of the experiment. The degradation speed was analyzed, which showed that the degradation speed of PFSD and PMD was faster in the former two weeks than that in the latter two weeks. The biodegradability of each kind of dishware were compared under three different environments, the results showed that inoculation environment (T=30°C, RH>90%, 28 days) is the best environment for dishware to biodegrade by fungi.

Abstract: IR chemical imaging has been used to characterise the dispersion of condensed tannin additives in a biodegradable plastic, poly(butylene succinate). By mapping key FTIR absorptions, acetylated tannin was found to remain in discrete aggregates, though the outer of these particles contained a mixed phase with PBS. In particles >100 μm, PBS does not appear to ingress the tannin core, only wetting the outer region. Analysis of a second tannin derivative indicated that there was a more uniform dispersion of the additive in the PBS matrix.