The effect of agricultural waste nanocellulose on the properties of bioplastic for fresh fruit packaging

Abstract

Despite the high production rate of Indonesian exotic fruits, the export rate has not been as high as desired. One of the main problems in exporting fresh fruits is the control of shelf-life during transportation and distribution. The use of active packaging has been reported to overcome this problem. Bioplastic bags are potential for this purpose, not only to extend the shelf-life, but also to create an environmentally friendly packaging. The objective of this research was to study the effects of the reinforcement of nancellulose obtained from rice straw and palm empty fruit bunch on the properties of bioplastic. Nanocellulose from rice straw and palm empty fruit bunch were produced using top-down method and blended with bioplastic pellets to produce bioplastic bags. Bags being analyzed for mechanical properties, morphological structure and permeability. The treatment including palm empty fruit bunch Bioplastic; rice straw bioplastics; commercial bioplastic, polypropylene and low density polyethylene plastic bags. Result study showed that bioplastic bags reinforced with palm empty fruit bunch nanocellulose had 23.30% higher tensile strength and 24.76% higher elongation compared with commercial bioplastics, while rice straw nanocellulose reinforcement only increased the tensile strength by 8.51% and did not improve the elongation. The Water Vapor Transmission Rate (WVTR) of bioplastic bags reinforced with rice straw and palm empty fruit bunch nanocellulose respectively was 401 and 399% higher compared to polypropylene plastic bags. Reinforcement with palm empty fruit bunch nanocellulose produced bioplastic bags with better properties due to higher mechanical properties compared to natural bioplastics with lower WVTR.