SYNTHESIS OF BIOPLASTICS FROM NATURAL RENEWABLE RESOURCES

ABSTRACT

This research focused  on the lab scale synthesis of bioplastics from banana peels and potato. It included the collection of banana peels and potatoes from Uselu Market, Benin. The banana peels were treated with an antioxidant and then pureed to get a uniform paste while the potatoes were pulverized and the starch was extracted from the puree. The banana peels paste was  then hydrolyzed by HCl which broke the amylopectin chains in the starch, and a small volume of  NaOH was added to neutralize the PH. Glycerol was also added as a plasticizer to make the prepared sample flexible. To synthesize the potato plastics, distilled water was added to the potato starch and different amounts of plasticizer (4 ml and 7 ml) was added to make the prepared samples flexible. Acetic acid was added to break up some of the polymers chains, making the plastic less brittle.

The aim of the study was to synthesize and compare bioplastics formed from natural renewable resources, using various drying processes(sun-drying and air-drying) and different amounts of plasticizer(4 ml and 7 ml). In addition, in order to determine the most suitable alternative for synthetic plastics, water absorption test, biodegradability test, endurance and elongation experiment and density test were conducted. The sun-dried potato plastic(containing 4ml of glycerol) obtained was the most durable with an average endurance of 9.15N/mm^2 and an average elongation percentage of 17.47. The air-dried potato plastic(containing 7ml of glycerol) degraded the fastest with an average weight loss of 50.69% after 7 days in the soil and it absorbed the least amount of water with an average weight gain of 54.94% when it was immersed in water for 1 hour. The results showed that the synthesized bioplastics had densities matching those of low density polyethylene and polypropylene and could serve as a potential alternative to those conventional plastic materials.