Shelf life prediction of sago starch filled natural rubber latex gloves by using average activation energy approach

Abstract

There are two methods of determining shelf life of a product; direct and indirect methods. The direct method requires product to be under real conditions for a period of time while indirect method predict the shelf life under accelerated temperature with short period of time. As for indirect method, Arrhenius model has normally applied with few approaches to extrapolate the model; including an approach called Average Activation Energy. In this study, the sago starch filled natural rubber latex (SSNRL) gloves which is formulated to reduce solid waste disposal problem is subjected to different accelerated ageing temperatures of 50 to 80°C in between 1 to 120 days. It is important to conduct this study as a significant modification in product formulation requires comprehensive studies of product shelf life. Results showed the estimated shelf life of SSNRL gloves to retain 50% of the tensile strength at shelf temperature (30°C) was around 7.99 years.