Characteristics of bioplastics prepared from cassava starch reinforced with banana bunch cellulose at various concentrations

Abstract Human activities have led to the pollution of the environment through the accumulation of plastic waste. Since plastics are resistant to decomposition resulting negative impact on the environment, there is a pressing need for the development of bioplastics. Starch is a such of natural material that can be used made of bioplastics. However, bioplastics from starch were needed to improve starch-based bioplastics due to their brittle properties. To address this issue, researchers focused on enhancing starch-based bioplastics by incorporating cellulose, particularly derived from kepok banana bunch fibers and cassava starch variety UJ3. The production process involved adding varying concentrations of 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 % (wt) of kepok banana bunch cellulose. The findings indicated that increasing cellulose concentration improved the characteristics of the bioplastic materials significantly. The results showed that the addition of cellulose concentration improved the mechanical properties, water vapor absorption, and biodegradability of bioplastics. With an optimal cellulose concentration level at 7.5%, remarkable enhancements in tensile strength (from 2.92 to 6.72 MPa), reduced elongation percentage (from 20.89 to 4.06%), increased Young’s Modulus values (from 13.98 to 172.52 MPa), decreased water vapor absorption rate (from 15,93 to 11,48%), and enhanced bio-degradability rating (from 29,81 to 50,69%) were observed.