Characterization of Sago Starch Based Degradable Plastic with Banana Stem Fiber Cellulose Filler for Food Packaging

The research focused on identifying alternatives to traditional plastic products has garnered significant interest due to the environmental implications of plastic waste, which takes millennia to degrade. Degradable plastic is an option that can be used instead of plastic that’s made from oil. Starch and cellulose are plentiful, inexpensive, and can be easily renewed. They can be changed into a type of plastic that breaks down easily. This research study was conducted with the objective of determining the effect of banana stem cellulose filler on the properties of sago-based degradable plastic. In order to ascertain the viability of degradable plastic for utilization as food packaging, the incorporation of polypropylene, in the form of polypropylene grafting maleic anhydride (PP-g-MA) was undertaken. The preparation of degradable plastic was carried out in several stages, starting with preparation of banana stem powder, cellulose extraction, and synthesis of degradable plastic films by thermospressing method. The addition of PP-g-MA to the degradable plastic was to develop cross linking between matrix and fiber, hence the properties will be improved, especially mechanical properties. There were several variation of fiber compositions incorporated into plastic degradable to observe the effect of fiber amount as filler. The variation of NaOH used for delignification to obtain cellulose from banana stem were 20%, 25% and 30% and cellulose concentration as filler were 15%, 25%, 35% and 45%. The result revealed delignification better result obtained at 25% NaOH. The highest tensile strength, Modulus Young and elongation at break obtained at were 12.06 MPa, 32.55 MPa and 70.2%, respectively and was taken place at 35% fiber filler addition. Based on the Fourier Transform Infra Red (FTIR) test results, there are C-H, C=C, O-H and C-O groups observed at wave numbers of 2968.45, 1654.92, 3570.24, 1165.00, 704.02, and 731.02 cm−1. The FTIR showed that most of the compounds can bind to water and can be broken down by microbes found in the soil. In term of thermal characteristic, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) showed degradable plastic has good thermal stability. Biodegradable plastic experienced decrease in mass (decomposition) started slowly at a temperature of 30 °C, caused by contaminants and other additives contained. Extreme weight loss begins at temperatures of 426.92–521.65 °C, and finally depleted at a temperature of 600 °C. The total weight loss for this sample was 85.66%. When exposed to moisture, degradable plastic had low water absorption rate, therefore it can be used for food packaging application. The addition of cellulose fiber could improve the water resistance property of plastic degradable. From chemical structure, cellulose has strong hydrogen bonds with oxygen so it is difficult to combine with water. From extrapolation data, it can be seen the degradability time was 24–42 days depending on the fiber filler concentration added. Fiber variation can be defined according to the application required.