Production of disposable takeaway food container from areca leaf sheath (ALS) as sustainable packaging material

Abstract

Areca leaf sheath has been used traditionally to produce disposable plates and bowls in India for decades. This project aims to produce disposable takeaway food containers by using the fallen Areca leaf sheath. In order to achieve the aim, a press mold is self-designed and fabricated, and installed into a disposable paper plate press machine to form the sheath into container shape. The density of the sheath is 0.423 g.cm−3 and 0.391 g.cm−3 before and after press respectively. The moisture content percentage obtained before heat press is 19.19%, while after press is 5.01%. The sheath at its sheath line direction shows higher stiffness, which is 416.9g.cm, compared to the perpendicular sheath direction of 65.1g.cm. The sheath has a water absorption rate of 0.021g.min−1, which fulfils the purpose of disposable food packaging to contain foods with soup or sauce.

Potential use of plant leaves and sheath as food packaging materials in tackling plastic pollution: A Review

“…Studies on economic analysis, energy analysis and heat pressing machines for manufacturing Arecanut Leaf sheath products were done in order to find the feasibility of starting an entrepreneurial activity with Arecanut leaf sheath plates as a substitute for synthetic food serving materials. (Acharya et al, 2020;Jong et al, 2020;Kumar et al, 2019). This research indicates the rising demand for biodegradable food packing and serving materials.…”

“…This research indicates the rising demand for biodegradable food packing and serving materials. In a project where it aims to produce disposable takeaway food containers by using the fallen Areca leaf sheath, the sheath has a water absorption rate of 0.021g.min-1, which fulfils the purpose of disposable food packaging to contain liquid foods (Jong et al, 2020).…”

“…The hydrophilic nature of protein and polysaccharide films results in greater permeability to water compared to synthetic films, and these also generally demonstrate weaker and less flexible structures. Consequently, the specific characteristics of the polymers utilized as building blocks determine their potential application in the packaging sector, as the safety of different products requires specific properties (Das & Chowdury, 2016;Jong et al, 2020;Khodaei et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2015).…”