Production of Cassava Starch Bioplastic Film Reinforced with Poly-Lactic Acid (PLA)

Abstract

Biodegradable thermoplastic starch from cassava starch was produced in this study. The thermoplastic starch (TPS) produced was reinforced with Polylactic Acid (PLA) so as to improve their physical properties. The TPS was produced using a casting method of polymer preparation and later subject to a compression moulding to form a 2 mm film. Glycerol was used as the plasticizer with content varying from 10 to 30% along with the varying amount of water (40 - 60%) and acetic acid (0 – 10%) content. The results show that glycerol has a significant effect on the tensile strength of the material while the effect of water was more significant in the elongation and water absorption properties of the TPS. An optimum value of tensile strength (11 MPa), percentage elongation at break (12%) and percentage water absorption (32%) was derived at 28, 60, and 2% of glycerol, water and acetic acid respectively. Addition of Poly-Lactic Acid (PLA) to the TPS at 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50% results in a significant positive improvement on the tensile strength (11 MPa to 38 MPa) and reduction in the percentage water absorption (30% to 10%) of the TPS with no significant improvement on the percentage elongation of the material. The TPS/PLA composite with higher tensile strength and lower water absorption can be utilized in some applications to replace the non-biodegradable synthetic plastic so as to reduce the unsustainable waste generation from the use of synthetic plastic.