Study of factors affecting hardness behavior of biopolymers based on potato and plantain peels: a factorial experimental evaluation

Abstract

The environmental impact caused by generation of plastic wastes at a global level is significant, during the last year, production of plastic increased by 40% due to the Covid-19 pandemic, demanding in an accelerated way the massive use of disposable personal protection elements. This situation has changed drastically the pattern of human behavior, introducing a lifestyle with greater hygiene that makes necessary to use plastic packaging to cover products, utensils, and food, avoiding any risk of transmission. To combat the massive use of plastic it is necessary to activate the transition towards circular economies that make use of environmentally friendly plastics; this is the case of biopolymers, materials that can be synthesized from organic waste rich in starch. Therefore, in this work, the factors that affect the hardness of polymers made from potato and plantain peels are studied through a factorial experimental design. The design establishes the combination of urea, glycerine, acetic acid, and water, to identify the best combination of plasticizer and their effect on the hardness of the material. Using Minitab, the multivariate linear models of hardness behavior were assessed to achieve the highest hardness values.