Biodegradable foam tray based on sago starch with beeswax as coating agent

Abstract

Biodegradable foam is an original packaging as a styrofoam alternative. Sago starch is used to produce biodegradable foam because of its huge amount, low-cost, and high biodegradability. Starch as a prospectus foam material is sensitive to water due to its hydrophilic properties. Thus, improvement is necessary to boost its water resistance capability. Coating the foam with a hydrophobic material prevents water contact with the starch. In this work, Beeswax was used as a coating agent due to its hydrophobicity. The purpose of this work to determine the concentration and time of beeswax coating on the mechanical properties of biodegradable foam. Beeswax was varied at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10% wt concentration with coating duration process for 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 seconds. Biodegradable foam was produced by baking process at 80°C for 1 hour 20 minutes. The results showed that the beeswax coating process increases the water resistance, although it does not significantly affect the tensile strength. Beeswax addition as much as 4% wt. for 150 seconds had improved the biodegradable foam properties as much as 1.92%, 73% in 28 days, and 0.09 MPa for water absorption capability, biodegradability, and tensile strength, respectively.

Development and characterization of chitosan and beeswax coated biodegradable corn husk and sugarcane bagasse-based cellulose paper.

“…However, beeswax coatings did not seem to contribute signi cantly to the mechanical strength of the papers. Hendrawati et al [32] and Khwaldia et al [33] also reported that wax-based coatings did not show any signi cant effect on the burst, tensile and tear properties of paper-based materials.…”

Sustainable and Repulpable Barrier Coatings for Fiber-Based Materials for Food Packaging: A Review

“…Such technologies can commercially be employed as a coating on the printed paper label; one such example is marketed under the trade name StixFresh ™ . Hendrawati et al (2021) studied sago starch foam coated with beeswax. They have reported that chemical treatments such as acid hydrolysis reduce the hydrophilicity of starch.…”

Research progress on the application of tristate water in preparation of starch‐based foaming materials

“…So that the molecular structure of starch is turned disordered, and its melt fluidity would similar to general-purpose resins. [24][25][26] Common plasticizing methods are physical and chemical methods. The physical methods mainly include ultra-high pressure, heat treatment method, ultrasonic wave, microfabrication, etc.…”