The Effect of Lotus Root Starch Content on the Water Barrier Properties and Biodegradability of Cassava Bioplastic Films

Abstract

Biodegradable films demand increases due to the awareness of the environmental effects of synthetic plastics. However, biodegradable films based on starch have high water sensibility and poor mechanical properties. This led to an interest among the scientist in improving the properties of biodegradable films. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of lotus root starch content on the water solubility, water absorption, water vapor permeability and biodegradability of cassava bioplastic films. The lotus root starch was added at 10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% of cassava starch. The results showed that the water absorption properties decreased by 122% to 21% and the water vapor permeability showed a decreasing trend as the lotus starch content increased. The water solubility increased from 4% to 36% with the increase of lotus starch content and biodegradability increased by 87.5% at 50% of lotus starch content. The results exposed the potential of cassava/ lotus starch bioplastic films for food packaging applications.