Properties of treated bamboo fiber reinforced tapioca starch biodegradable composite

Abstract

Abstract Due to the abundance of plastic wastes over last few decades, biodegradable ‘green’ plastics are regarded as possible substitutes to petroleum-based plastics which has several disadvantages such as limited resources, take long time to decompose and landfill accumulation. Recent studies have reported the potential use of natural polymers to produce plastics are promising in terms of mechanical properties and it is comparable to petrochemical plastics. Furthermore, natural polymers and fibers such as tapioca starch and bamboo can be harvested from common plant that can be easily found in Malaysia and Asia. The advantages of natural fibers over traditional reinforcing materials are their acceptable specific strength properties, low density, good thermal properties, enhanced energy recovery and biodegradability. Besides, they are abundantly available, ecological friendly and low cost. In this project, the mechanical properties and biodegradability of green composite were analyzed and improved, by applying chemical treatments on the bamboo fibers that act as the reinforcement on the tapioca starch for making possible this bio-composite to compete with the petroleum-based plastics in the market. Different type of chemical treatments leading to the increase the tensile and flexural strength of composite. Alkali treated starch/bamboo fiber reinforced composites has been proved to have better mechanical among the samples.