Characterization of polyethylene-starch based film at a different percentage of crude palm oil and Aloe vera gel

Abstract

Combination of polytethylene (PE) and starch is an alternative to enhance the capability of plastic film to degrade faster. However, the compatibility between each material was unsatisfied due to the hydrophobic nature of PE and hydrophilic nature of starch. Therefore, this paper was introducing crude palm oil (CPO) to act as plasticizer while Aloe vera (AV) as the compatibilizer. The objective of this paper was to study the changes caused by CPO and AV towards thermal degradation, thermal properties, and mechanical performance of PE/starch-based film. Melt-blending and hot press technique were applied to prepare the samples. Film 0.15C/1.08Av performed highest thermal degradation rate occurred with the lowest residue left. An increasing amount of CPO had caused decrement of percent crystallinity of the film while an increasing amount of AV shows an inconsistent value of percent crystallinity. The best tensile strength occurred at the formulation of 0.15C/1.08Av while highest elongation obtained by 2.7C/0.06Av. As a conclusion, CPO and AV affect the properties of the film. However, only AV has the potential to proceed with the next stage in improving the tensile strength of the film while CPO did not show good improvement.