BIO-PLASTIC USING COCONUT OIL AS PLASTICIZERA Study Presented to:Ms.
Ylcy R. BalicocoAtty. Orlando S. Rimando NHS, Poblacion Maco, Compostela Valley ProvinceIn Partial Fulfillment ofThe 3rd and 4th Periodical ExamGrade 9 Special Science ClassJared C. MadridKernith Jee Emmanuele C. NarvasaJohn Lloyd S. JalangChariz R.
MoldezMarch 2017Chapter 1RATIONALEHumans utilize plastic in everyday life. It is very easy to spot materials that are made out of plastic or contains plastic. It is an undeniable fact that people should be aware of since the ever-growing demand of plastic results to even more plastic wastes which harms the environment. Plastics are really helpful but the immense usage and productions, along with the improper disposal of used plastics takes a toll on the environment’s wellbeing.According to the History of Plastics (2017), there are three major negative effects of plastics and first of it is environmental harm.
The ever increasing plastic production since 1950s managed to saturate the world with waste plastic products that can cause major effects on the environment. Decomposition of plastic products can last from 400 to 1000 years with newer “degradable” compounds, but before that degradation can take place waste plastic will continue to clog our waterways, oceans, forests, and other natural habitats that are filled with animals who mistake dangerous plastics for food.It is known worldwide that the creation and recycling of plastics can cause serious environmental risk, but some of the additives that are infused in plastic can cause permanent harm to our metabolism otherwise a chemical risk.And lastly, plastics are choking hazards. Plastic is one of the most popular building materials for small items around the world. This is most evident in the toy industry, where vast majority of children toys is manufactured with plastic. These toys and small plastic objects of many uses can easily get into children’s hands (especially babies and toddlers) that unknowingly put them in their mouth. Developing countries, such as the Philippines, run on a “sachet economy”, which encourages the practice of buying Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCGs) in small quantities making Philippines the third biggest source of plastic ocean pollution because of the cheap, disposable plastics produced.
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(Abigail Aguilar, 2017)Speculators in Maco agree that the dilemma is getting worse as they observed public areas getting loaded with various plastic wastes. This growing predicament caught the eye of the researchers and decided to make plastic that easily decomposes. Bio-plastics are a great alternative to traditional plastics, which are often composed of petroleum products.RESEARCH QUESTIONSWhat makes coconut oil an effective non-toxic plasticizer?How long will the bio-plastic decompose in natural conditions?Is this bio-plastic safe for the substitution of plastics for food packaging, children’s items/toys, etc.?HYPOTHESISIf the coconut oil is used as a substitute non-toxic plasticizer, then bio-plastic is produced.SCOPE AND LIMITATIONSThis study aims to produce a bio-plastic that will replace the general use of non-biodegradable plastics, therefore mitigating the environmental impact brought by plastic wastes. The Philippines that is running on a “sachet economy” will make great use of this study by using bio-plastic in the packaging of the sachet products (which will eventually get discarded afterwards) generally, the whole industry can lessen plastic wastes and its harmful environmental risks by introducing bio-plastic as a standard usage to the economy.
This study was conducted from January 2017 to March 2017.We acknowledge the weaknesses and limitations of this study to determine in which aspects can future researchers can contribute to our efforts in lessening this environmental dilemma. The cons of bio plastic according to Greenhome.com.za, when bio-plastics can someday be conventionally utilized in the industry, most people will rely on the fact that bio-plastics can indeed decompose and may encourage them to litter more, and the biodegrading of bio-plastics may require a specific set of conditions which may not be available at all times. (i.
e. in landfills), also, reproducing bio-plastics using coconut oil as plasticizer may be a challenge in other countries since coconuts are only available rampantly in tropics considering this study is based on the Republic of the Philippines.SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDYThis study is significant because it aims to produce a biodegradable plastic to substitute non-biodegradable plastics in its conventional, everyday use, thus, lessening the environmental impact of too much discarded plastics that clogs the waterways, pollutes the habitat of animals and some may release harmful chemicals used in the manufacturing of these plastics to the living organisms of a certain environment.DEFINITION OF TERMSCoconut Oil: Also known as copra oil, is an edible oil extracted from the kernel or meat of mature coconuts harvested from the coconut palm. In this study, coconut oil is used as the plasticizer for the bio-plastic.
Bio-plastic: Bio plastics are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, or micro biota. (Wikipedia) This is the dependent variable of our study.Plasticizer: Plasticizers or dispersants are additives that increase the plasticity or decrease the viscosity of a material. These are the substances which are added in order to alter their physical properties. (Wikipedia) This is the role of the coconut oil in this study.Biodegradable: Able to decompose naturally: made of substances that will decay relatively quickly as a result of the action of bacteria and break down into elements such as carbon that are recycled naturally (Microsoft Encarta 2009), this is how we hope our finished product would be like.Review of Related LiteratureBioplastic Packaging plays a significant part in recent years as over 67 million tonnes of packaging waste resulting in environmental concerns. This provokes many different processing, for example the using of additives such as fillers, colorants and plasticizers to produce polymers as packaging applicationsTherefore, production of bio-plastics is the breakthrough innovation to solve the environmental issues by using renewable and degradable natural resources and to provide more cost effective bio-plastics.
Raw materials for bio-plastics originate from natural constituents such as polysaccharides (e.g.starch, cellulose, chitin and lignin) proteins (e.g. gelatine, casein and wheat gluten) and lipids (e.g.plant oils and animals fats) In Indonesia, development of starch based bioplastics has a big potential, because starch can be easily obtained by majority of Indonesia’s plants.
One of the most abundant sources for starch production in Indonesia is from cassava. Cassava processing results in organic waste such as cassava peel that can be used as bioplastic matrix for its high starch content.However, bio-plastic based on starch still has many disadvantages like poor mechanical properties and high moisture adsorption, therefore an alternative is used to improve its properties. Reinforcing fillers such as cellulose has proven to be the most promising material. Microcrystalline cellulose used as reinforcement filler for starch based edible films was analyzed by Psomiadou et al. (1996).
The results showed higher strength and elongation and lower water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) of bio-plastics.Microcrystalline cellulose Avicel PH 101 is used as reinforcing filler because it offers higher density of hydroxyl groups on its surface that is available for hydrogen bonding. Utilization of organic waste such as cassava peel for production of starch based bio-plastic can help reducing the environmental damages that are caused by conventional plastics.
Higher value bio-plastics can be obtained by improving their properties with the most abundant and biodegradable reinforcing filler like cellulose. The goal of this work is to study the properties of bio-plastics from agriculture waste. Effect of reinforcement fillers and plasticizers on bioplastics is also examined. The production of starch based bio-plastics from cassava peel reinforced with microcrystalline cellulose using sorbitol as plasticizer was investigated. Physical properties of bioplastics were determined by density, water uptake, tensile strength and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy.
Bio-plastics were prepared from cassava peel starch plasticized using sorbitol with variation of 20; 25; 30% (wt/v of sorbitol to starch) reinforced with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) Avicel PH101 fillers with range of 0 to 6% (wt/wt of MCC to starch). The results showed improvement in tensile strength with higher MCC content up to 9,12mp a compared to non-reinforced bioplastics. This could be mainly attributed to the strong hydrogen bonds between MCC and starch. On the contrary, the addition of MCC decreased the elongation at break, density and water uptake. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy showed the functional groups of bio-plastics, which the majority of O-H groups were found at the bioplastics with reinforcing filler MCC that represented substantial hydrogen bonds. The highest tensile strength value was obtained for bio-plastic with MCC content 6% and sorbitol content 20%.
With good adhesion between MCC and starch, the production of bioplastics could be widely used as a substitute for conventional plastics with more benefits to the environment.(Maulida, 2016)Fossil fuel plastics derived from petroleum are very common in our lives and we cannot think our day without their use. At the same time they are non-biodegradable and produce greenhouse gases, thus causing an environment problem. The solution to this problem is biodegradable bio-plastic.Bio-plastics are plastics derived from renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable fats and oils, corn starch, pea starch or micro biota. There is a variety of materials that bio-plastics can be composed of, including: starches, cellulose, or other biopolymers.In this paper we are dealing with the making of bio-plastics from cellulose and for cellulose we will use waste newspapers as our raw material.
In this process cellulose is taken out from waste newspapers by decomposing them. Then cellulose is decomposed into starch/glucose by process called Cellulolysis which is done with the help of enzymes. Finally, bio-plastic is prepared in lab by starch/glucose.Bio-plastic are plastic derived from renewable biomass sources, such asvegetable fats and oils, starch or micro biota. Common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics, are derived from petroleum- these plastics rely more on fossil fuels and produce more greenhouse gas.
Some, but not all, bio-plastics are designed to biodegrade. Biodegradable bio-plastics can break down in either anaerobic or aerobic environments, depending on how they are manufactured. There is a variety of materials that bio-plastic can be composed of starches, cellulose, or other biopolymers.
Some common applications of bioplastics are packaging materials, dining utensils, food packaging, and insulation. Polyactic Acid (PLA), the second most important bio-plastic of the world in regard to consumption in volume. PLA is a transparent plastic produced from corn or dextrose. It not only resembles conventional petrochemical-based mass plastics in its characteristics, but it can also be processed on standard equipment that already exists for the production of some conventional plastics.
PLA and PLA blends generally come in the form of granulates with various properties, and are used in the plastic processing industry for the production of films, fibers, plastic containers, cups and bottles. PLA, a plastic substitute made from fermented plant starch (usually corn) is quickly becoming a popular alternative to traditional petroleum-based plastics. As more and more countries and states follow the lead of China, Ireland, South Africa, Uganda and San Francisco in banning plastic grocery bags responsible for so much so-called “white pollution” around the world, PLA is poised to play a big role as a viable, biodegradable replacement. Nowadays, bio-plastics are made by corn starch, potatoes starch or banana starch which is used by humans and animals for their living.
So my suggestion is that instead of using starch that are excreted from eatable things we should use waste newspaper which are mainly made up of cellulose and these newspapers are dumped into oceans for disposal. (Sudhanshu Joshi, Ujjawal Sharma, 2014)Cornstarch Corn starch is a valuable ingredient to the food industry, being widely used as a thickener, gelling agent, bulking agent and water retention agent. Pasting properties, gelatinization and subsequent textural properties of starch are key functional properties that determine many applications of starch in the food industry. Native starch undergoes various physicochemical changes during thermal processing.
Specifically, when heated in water, starch granules swell, followed by disruption of their crystalline structures. The rising viscosity has been ascribed to the swelling of the starch granules as they absorb water until they burst. The viscosity maximum is reached when the granules are fully swelled, and the subsequent decrease results from the less rigid arrangement of the individual molecules released by granules rupture. Subsequently, gelatinized starch molecules are re-associated in an ordered structure. During this heating and cooling process, the texture of the resultant starch pastes changes, thereby forming viscoelastic gels.
However, the structure and property of starch are highly dependent on its sources and also varies under different processing conditions. (Sun Q, Xing Y, Qiu C, Xiong L, 2014) Brazil disposes of approximately 240,000 tons of waste per day, an amount lower than that in the USA (607,000 t./day), but fairly above those in countries such as Germany (85,000 t.
/day) and Sweden (10,400 t./day). Of that total, a large amount goes to open waste deposits. Only a small quantity is disposed of in appropriate places. A city like São Paulo spends, per day, US$ 300,000 with waste. According to the Instituto de Pesquisas Tecnológicas – IPT (Institute of Technological Research), only few municipalities have specific teams and public policies engaged in dealing with the waste.When it is not treated, waste becomes a serious sanitary problem, since it exposes the community to illnesses like diarrhea, amebiasis, and parasitosis, apart from contaminating the soil, waters and water tables.
Among solutions, there are the creation of sanitary landfills in appropriate places, adoption of selective collecting and recycling programs, conducting of campaigns with the aim of both making society conscious about the problem and demanding a greater participation of government authorities (Editora Abril, 2002). The manufacturing of biodegradable material offers an interesting solution for plastic materials. Like it happens with organic residues, such as foodstuff, elimination of biodegradable materials is not automatic and is considered as a recycling process by many experts. Biodegradable materials go through a composting process, for the obtaining of a stable compound, considered the final product of recycling.The bioplastics found in the market are made mainly from starch. Starch-based bioplastics represent from 85% to 90% of market’s bioplastics (Bastioli, 2000). Among starch bioplastics are those manufactured with native or slightly modified starches, either isolated or blended with natural or synthetic molecules. In addition, there is also the result from the lactic acid polymerization obtained through the fermentation of starch.
Within this later category is the PLA (polylactic acid), considered the one with the largest potential for the next years.The use of starch in the manufacturing of bioplastics began in the 70’s (Curvelo et al.,2001).Among its advantages, the starch is cheap, abundant and renewable. Besides, it is found in several forms due to the origin of its raw material (Lawter and Fischer, 2000).In the granular state, it has been used as filling agent for polyolefin and as a component in synthetic polymers blends. According to Lawter and Fischer (2000), starches have also been modified by means of “grafting” with vinyl monomers (e.
g., methyl acr-ylate), originating materials for injection in molds or extrusion.It is possible to produce starch films through the grafting of polymers, such asPolyethylene (PE). Only the starch is biodegradable and these films are practically nolonger used (Lawter and Fischer, 2000).
According to Kaplan (1998), a silane with ageneral formula of CH3-Si-O-(R1,R2,R3) can be added to a blend of PE to improvethe compatibility of these two materials. (Olivier Vilpoux, Luc Averous, 2002)Coconut OilConventional plastics are predominantly made from crude oil. When plastics made from petroleum are burned in air, they release the carbon dioxide contained in the petroleum into the atmosphere, leading to global warming. Most of the pollution in environment is from petroleum based plastics as their wastes are toxic and non-degradable, directly affecting plants, animals and human beings. These wastes are mostly of such plastic made items which are required for short span of time like plastic bottles, plates, cups, spoons and other catering items. Recycling the plastics is always not the great idea as it requires great effort in collection and even not all the plastic wastes are approachable or fully recycled.
Waste management and bio-degradation are important criterion. Material of items should be made from waste products or from renewable resources, possess good mechanical strength and after use, do not stuck in environment, get easily degradeIn this paper an attempt has been made to develop bio-composite from starch and coconut waste (coir). The tensile strength, hardness, density and absorptivity were examined at various proportions, which are directly linked with their mechanical strength and bio-degradation characteristic. The SEM micrographs reveal the changes on surface of bio-composite samples and tests show that with increase in fiber content mechanical strength increases up to a limit and then decreases. Absorptivity and density increases within fiber content and could be utilized as material for catering items required for short span of time.Plastics are versatile materials since the properties of this material can be made to meet specific demands by varying molecular weight distribution and side chain branching.Petroleum based plastic made items, create maximum pollution in the environment, as they are not easily degradable, highly inflammable, and relatively toxic. Bio plastics (green plastics) and green composites (Bio Composite = Bio Plastic + Bio Fibers) tends proportional to degradation and have more environment friendly processing.
Bio plastics have limited mechanical strength but composites made by green-plastics and natural fibers are having higher mechanical properties and good decomposing characteristic. In this study, an attempt has been made to develop bio-composite from corn starch and coconut fiber also called coir, and studied the effect of addition of fiber (0.25gm-1.
5gm) on strength and biodegrading characteristics of bio-composite.First bio-plastic made and then coconut fibers were incorporated to increase the strength. Rahul Sen, N.C.Upadhayay, Upender Pandel, 2015 This study explores the plasticizing effect of coconut oil (CO) on PLA for evaluating its suitability for flexible packaging. Changes in morphological, mechanical, thermal, rheological, barrier and optical properties of melt compounded Poly(lactic acid)–Coconut oil (PLA–CO) blend were investigated by varying the mixing ratio.
Water vapor’s permeability blends is decreased by 58% at 7 wt % plasticizer content. The tensile strength showed a decreasing trend with increasing plasticizer percentage while the % elongation showed an increasing trend. At 7 wt % plasticizer content tensile strength decreased from 60 to 41 MPa and % elongation increased from 12% to 54%. Molecular weight (Mn) and onset of degradation (Tonset), upon 1 wt % plasticizer addition showed a reduction of 6% and 0.
6%, respectively, which were well within permissible limits required for polymer processing. The melt flow properties of the blends were slightly improved (?16%) upon 5 wt % addition of CO. Transparency of the PLA films was improved by addition of plasticizer. FTIR spectra of PLA-CO sample confirmed the interaction between PLA and coconut oil via hydrogen bonding. At higher loading, coconut oil shows very limited compatibility with PLA.(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.
com/wol1/doi/10.1002/app.45390/abstract, 2017)Chapter 2Locale of the study The production of bioplastic was made at the proponent’s house.in 1377 San Gabriel District, Poblacion Maco, Compostela Valley Province.
Materials: 1. 1 tbsp cornstarch 5. Spatula 2. 1 tsp vinegar 6.
Small Pot 3. 1.tsp coconut oil 7. Aluminum Foil 4. 4 tbsp water 8.
Measuring Cups Procedures: Gather the materials needed, which will be collected at the supermarket at Tagum City.Add the water, cornstarch, vinegar and the coconut oil into the small pot.Heat the materials and stir regularly to avoid clumping.
Turn off the heat then let the mixture cool.Scoop the cooled mixture then form into plastic.Let it hardened overnight until completely set.After the steps taken, the bio-plastic is ready for experimentation Testing’s:Tensile Strength TestThe bio-plastic and a commercial plastic will be experimented with various weights to determine its tensile strength. (Green Plastics, 2013)Flexibility TestThe bio-plastic, along with the commercial plastic, will both be stretched to see its flexibility.
(Green Plastics, 2013)
