Abstract

Conventional plastics manufactured from non-renewable fossil fuels contribute heavily to solid waste disposal. This study showed that the proper selection of enhancer added to the polysaccharide kappa-carrageenan (?C) can improve the properties of the resulting water soluble plastic film. This study is focused on the effect of three enhancers (glycerol, carbopol and boric acid) on the solubility, tensile strength and water vapor permeability of ?C-based film which may be used for fruit packaging. Through carboxymethylation process, ?C was modified with monochloroacetic acid (MCA) as the etherifying agent. Using ?C and carboxymethyl-kappa-carrageenan (CM?C) as the base polymers, three formulations containing increasing amount of enhancers were prepared. Fruit packaging properties were the basis for this experimentation. The resulting plastic films were soluble in water, and insoluble in 1.0 N HCl, 1 M NaOH, and seawater. In the mechanical tests (tensile strength measured by Universal testing Machine), the

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