Potency of Utilizing Sago Starch as Natural Resource from Papua in the Production of Biodegradable Plastic

Abstract

The use of conventional plastic has become a priority in various aspects of life but has contributed to environmental problems from the aspect of managing plastic waste. In this study, the feedstock of Sago Starch from Papua was utilized for its potency to produce biodegradable plastic by varying several parameters of chitosan, glycerol, and acetic acid at different levels. The optimum biodegradable plastic characterization of tensile strength of 7.41 MPa, elongation at break corresponding to 24.17%, and the fastest of 40 days durability of completely removed wastes of degradable plastics were achieved. Based on the results obtained, it was concluded that the strength of biodegradable plastic was affected by the amount of chitosan added, while the level of breaking downlinked to elongation at break and degradable period was related to the amount of glycerol as plasticizer used. Acetic acid was found to improve the solubility of the starch by acting as a catalysator, therefore making the homogenization become easily achieved. In addition, the SAS model was used to perform the interaction of all parameters to the characterizations measured of tensile strength and elongation at break. Hence, statistically, all glycerol, chitosan, and acetic acid parameters significantly affected biodegradable plastics characterizations (p < 0.05). By utilizing the right production technology through the stages of feedstock preparation, heating, chemical mixing, and printing, it is expected to produce good quality of biodegradable plastic, eco-friendly product and feasible to support the development of the economic sector in Papua.