Effects of Kappa-Carrageenan on the Physico-Chemical Properties of Thermoplastic Starch

Abstract

Food packaging materials derived from renewable sources are highly sought due to their low cost and wide range of functional properties. This research reports on the fabrication and physico-chemical properties of composite films from cassava starch and κ-carrageenan.Characterization of the films by FTIR indicates physical entanglements between polymer chains. The water solubility of the films showed linear dependency on the κ-carrageenan content while the moisture content diminished with the addition of κ-carrageenan. . The mechanical property of the films showed that as the amount of κ-carrageenan increases, tensile strength exhibited improvement, the water activity (aw) increased, and pH became more basic, while % elongation weakened. Water vapour transmission rate (WVTR) improved significantly from 82.73 g/(m2.day) for pure thermoplastic starch to 11.31 g/(m2.day) for 90/10 % (w/w) starch/ κ-carrageenan ratio, which is comparable to WVTR of commercial polypropylene.