Investigating from Application to Soil Fertility of Biodegradable Banana Peel Plastic

Abstract

The development of degradable plastic replacement seems more urgent with time. This study examined the practical applications of banana plastic to see if it has appropriate properties for packing, decoration, and craft materials. Further, beneficial effects on soil from biodegradable plastic materials were investigated. The banana peel plastic was created with multiple processes, such as grinding, HCl hydrolysis, glycerin plasticization, and NaOH neutralization. Subsequently, the banana dough was molded to form the final product with low-temperature treatment. Physical properties of density, tension, endurance, and shrinkage were evaluated, while chemical properties of biodegradability, pH resistance, and flammability were examined. And various craft items were molded and painted to examine their artistic values. And a soil fertility study was carried out. 
 And the biodegradability results showed that 53.0, 45.0, 5.0 percent changes were recorded over the course of 12 weeks in food-waste soil, regular soil and, salt water soil, respectively. Further, the banana bioplastic was also found to be physically stable without much change in density in solution pH from 6.0 to 10.0. The flammability test showed that banana plastic took significantly longer to catch flame and produced less toxic fumes (P<0.05). The banana plastic as packing materials held items in a box more securely, while it showed multiple superior craft materials. The soil pH, bean growing pattern, and earthworm reflex test demonstrated that the soil with degraded banana plastic became more fertile compared to the regular soil (P<0.05).