Fabricating Starch-Based Bioplastic Reinforced with Bagasse for Food Packaging

Abstract

Nowadays, food packaging plastics is one of the largest markets that consume thermoplastics. Regardless, the packaging industry accounts for the majority of plastic waste that is polluting the environment. Furthermore, because petroleum sources are limited and on the verge of depletion, there is a need to develop alternative materials that can perform the same functions as conventional plastics. Hence, many solutions have emerged in the now time being. Biopolymers have demonstrated great potential as green materials, despite their poor market penetration. They can be a very remarkable alternative and moreover possess an outstanding friendliness characteristic. Bioplastics are a critical key player in turning the plastics sector from a wasteful linear economy to a circular economy. Their expanding use will have better impacts, not just in terms of the environment and economy, but also in terms of functionality. This paper has been attempted to accomplish a biopolymer-made out of starch and sugarcane bagasse pulp in the regard of replacing the current standard plastic as packaging material. The results state the fabricated biopolymer of starch and bagasse composite is very prominent to take the lead as packing material of future possibilities for green material adoption. Moreover, the addition of the bagasse enhanced the mechanical property, and the castor oil boosted the flexibility and hence elongation. Through such work of the article, the conclusion of the bio-based film to compete at a superior level with the current plastic film properties in the market is basically proved.

The Potential Applications of Reinforced Bioplastics in Various Industries: A Review

“…The most common green fillers used in bioplastics reinforcement are starch and fibre, which are two of the most abundant bioresources in the world. Starch can be obtained from plants, such as corn and potato, while fibre can be obtained from biomasses, such as bagasse and empty palm fruit brunch (EFB), and studies indicated that mechanical properties of bioplastics are significantly enhanced through the reinforcement of starch and fibre, which are abundant and cheap in nature [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. Other than that, synthetic resources used in bioplastics reinforcement, including carbon fibre, glass fibre, and poly(propylene) (PP), give significant positive improvement to the properties of bioplastics [ 33 , 34 ].…”

“…In order to overcome the brittleness issue with the negative effect of plasticiser, reinforcing materials (fillers) are used. A study, adding castor oil as plasticiser in bagasse-reinforced starch-based bioplastics, enhanced the elongation and tensile strength of the bioplastics by around 311.8% and 42.8% respectively [ 32 ]. EFB-reinforced PLA showed decreased stiffness from 38.7 MPa to 33.4 MPa (deduction around 13.7%) at 50% EFB loading [ 61 ].…”

Agri-Food Wastes for Bioplastics: European Prospective on Possible Applications in Their Second Life for a Circular Economy

“…Consequently, there is a growing interest in the exploitation of this waste for other purposes, such as the production of bioplastics [59,60]. Thanks to their protein and polysaccharide content, indeed, eco-friendly bioplastics can be produced from renewable sources like casein [61], pear pomace and ricotta whey [62], watermelon [63], starch and sugarcane bagasse pulp [64], banana peel [65], lignin-cellulosic crop residues [66,67], soybean oil [68], grass pea [69], and algae [70]. The main polymers obtained by some FLWs are shown in Table 1.…”

Effect of Alkali Treatment under Ambient and Heated Conditions on the Physicochemical, Structural, Morphological, and Thermal Properties of Calamus tenuis Cane Fibers

“…In many cases, these fibers have also been proposed as reinforcement materials in the fabrication of polymer composites. This trend is even further fostered by the fact that increasing amounts of secondary raw materials originating from agricultural and food waste are available [13,14]. These are gradually and purposely redirected from a destiny of bare biomass combustion for energy recovery to comply with the objective proposed by the 2008/98 European Commission directive.…”