Preparation and Characterization of Starch/Empty Fruit Bunch-Based Bioplastic Composites Reinforced with Epoxidized Oils

Abstract

This study examined the development of starch/oil palm empty fruit bunch-based bioplastic composites reinforced with either epoxidized palm oil (EPO) or epoxidized soybean oil (ESO), at various concentrations, in order to improve the mechanical and water-resistance properties of the bio-composites. The SEM micrographs showed that low content (0.75 wt%) of epoxidized oils (EOs), especially ESO, improved the compatibility of the composites, while high content (3 wt%) of EO induced many voids. The melting temperature of the composites was increased by the incorporation of both EOs. Thermal stability of the bioplastics was increased by the introduction of ESO. Low contents of EO led to a huge enhancement of tensile strength, while higher contents of EO showed a negative effect, due to the phase separation. The tensile strength increased from 0.83 MPa of the control sample to 3.92 and 5.42 MPa for the composites with 1.5 wt% EPO and 0.75 wt% ESO, respectively. EOs reduced the composites’ water uptake and solubility but increased the water vapor permeability. Overall, the reinforcing effect of ESO was better than EPO. These results suggested that both EOs can be utilized as modifiers to prepare starch/empty-fruit-bunch-based bioplastic composites with enhanced properties.

Comparative study on the properties of starch-based bioplastics incorporated with palm oil and epoxidized palm oil

“…Native cassava starch (moisture content 11.43%, amylose content 21.20%) and commercial refined palm oil (minimum purity 99%) were provided by LGC Scientific SDN BHD located in Selangor (Malaysia). Epoxidized palm oil (EPO) was synthesized by following the methods of Kim and Sharma 21 and Yang, Ching 18 with slight modifications. Briefly, 100 g PO, 11.13 g CH 3 COOH and a certain amount of H 2 SO 4 (2% of the H 2 O 2 -CH 3 COOH mixture) were blended in a 500 mL flask with an oil bath, a mechanical stirrer, a thermometer, a dropping funnel, and a cold-water condenser.…”

“…Afterward, PO or EPO, and Tween 80 (25 wt% of the oils) were added and their concentrations were chosen based on our previous study. 18 The solution was homogenized at 20,000 rpm for 2 min by a rotor-stator homogenizer. The sample without oils was prepared as the control.…”

“…PO or epoxidized palm oil (EPO) is just developed as a potential modifier in the bioplastics recently compared to soybean oil or epoxidized soybean oil, which has been established as the component in industrial production successfully. 18 PO is increasingly used to improve the hydrophobicity of starch-based bioplastics. 13 Regarding EPO, it is mainly used as the plasticizer in poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based composites.…”

Marine Plastics Abatement

“…Due to their low cost, high availability of feedstock, ease of processing and good biodegradability, they become the most successfully commercialized biomass produced plastics. Several other natural-based biopolymers such as chitin, gums, polypeptides and lipids have also been extensively studied and proven to be useful in bioplastic production for different application purposes including packaging, food/ beverage containers, films and customer goods (Chaireh et al, 2020;He et al, 2017;Jiménez-Rosado et al, 2020Padil et al, 2019;Pavon et al, 2020;Ramakrishnan et al, 2018;Tedeschi et al, 2018;Yang et al, 2021). However, limited commercialization cases have been reported.…”

Disposable Food Packaging and Serving Materials—Trends and Biodegradability

“…The results of the study conducted by Righetti et al (2019) show that starch in the biocomposites of poly(lactic acid) (PLA) with potato acts as filler for PLA and the additional application of biobased and petroleum-based waxes improves the mechanical properties of the composites [ 110 ]. In order to improve the mechanical and water-resistance properties of starch bioplastic, epoxidized palm oil or soybean oil can also be used [ 111 ]. Improved mechanical properties of obtained polymer were also noted when dolomite filler was introduced into thermoplastic starch, and sonicated dolomite-thermoplastic starch shows better mechanical properties than pristine dolomite [ 112 ].…”