Characterization and disintegration performance of thermoplastic starch-based film incorporated with aloe vera gel and polyethylene / Siti Fatma Abd Karim

Thirty years ago, researchers blended thermoplastic starch (TPS) and polyethylene (PE) to enhance the tensile strength of TPS and improve PE's disintegration ability to reduce plastic waste accumulation. Despite toxic compatibilizer/crosslinker addition to improve TPS/PE compatibility, TPS/PE c...

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Main Author:	Abd Karim, Siti Fatma
Format:	Thesis
Language:	English
Published:	2023
Subjects:	Polyethylene
Online Access:	https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/102205/1/102205.pdf
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id	my-uitm-ir.102205
record_format	uketd_dc
spelling	my-uitm-ir.1022052024-11-15T03:05:04Z Characterization and disintegration performance of thermoplastic starch-based film incorporated with aloe vera gel and polyethylene / Siti Fatma Abd Karim 2023 Abd Karim, Siti Fatma Polyethylene Thirty years ago, researchers blended thermoplastic starch (TPS) and polyethylene (PE) to enhance the tensile strength of TPS and improve PE's disintegration ability to reduce plastic waste accumulation. Despite toxic compatibilizer/crosslinker addition to improve TPS/PE compatibility, TPS/PE compatibility was uncertain due to inconsistent tensile strength. Plus, the PE ratio in the TPS/PE blend was high, contributing to insignificant disintegration performance. Therefore, the incorporation of aloe vera (AV) to replace toxic compatibilizer while acting as a crosslinker into TPS to reduce the amount of PE used in TPS/PE film was investigated. The effects of AV and PE on TPS characteristics and disintegration performance were evaluated. Melt-blending and hotpress techniques were applied to produce TPS + AV + PE film, while the ISO 20200 technique was implemented to assess the disintegration performance. The formulation yielding the best tensile strength was TPS + 30% AV + 10% PE, with an average of 9.64 MPa due to the crosslinking effect that occurred between TPS and 30% AV gel and grafting formation between TPS + 30 % AV with 10% PE. The increment in melting and decomposition temperatures of TPS + 30% AV film verified the crosslinking performance between TPS and 30% AV. At the same time, the grafting of 10% PE on TPS + 30% AV film is supported by a decrement in water solubility percentage. The film's thickness, visual appearance, functional group changes, and crystallinity were also assessed. The TPS + 30% AV + 10% PE was considered biodegradable since 99% of the film disintegrated in the synthetic solid waste based on ISO 20200. The Hill model was chosen as the most suitable kinetics model to represent the disintegration behavior of TPS + 30% AV + 10% PE with the highest R2, lowest RMSE, and accuracy factor (AF) greater than one and closer to 1. Three phases of the disintegration process were proposed: fragmentation, hydrolysis, bioassimilation, and mineralization. The increment in weight loss percentage, void formation, and TPS functional compound disappearance suggested the proposed disintegration process. The increment in water contact angle percentage validated the disintegration mechanism. In conclusion, this study revealed the benefits of 30% AV gel and 10% PE in enhancing the TPS film. The disintegration ability of TPS + 30% AV + 10% PE within 90 days based on ISO 20200 suggests its high potential to be used as a commercialized biodegradable film packaging with a suitable application. 2023 Thesis https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/102205/ https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/102205/1/102205.pdf text en public phd doctoral Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) College of Engineering
institution	Universiti Teknologi MARA
collection	UiTM Institutional Repository
language	English
topic	Polyethylene
spellingShingle	Polyethylene Abd Karim, Siti Fatma Characterization and disintegration performance of thermoplastic starch-based film incorporated with aloe vera gel and polyethylene / Siti Fatma Abd Karim
description	Thirty years ago, researchers blended thermoplastic starch (TPS) and polyethylene (PE) to enhance the tensile strength of TPS and improve PE's disintegration ability to reduce plastic waste accumulation. Despite toxic compatibilizer/crosslinker addition to improve TPS/PE compatibility, TPS/PE compatibility was uncertain due to inconsistent tensile strength. Plus, the PE ratio in the TPS/PE blend was high, contributing to insignificant disintegration performance. Therefore, the incorporation of aloe vera (AV) to replace toxic compatibilizer while acting as a crosslinker into TPS to reduce the amount of PE used in TPS/PE film was investigated. The effects of AV and PE on TPS characteristics and disintegration performance were evaluated. Melt-blending and hotpress techniques were applied to produce TPS + AV + PE film, while the ISO 20200 technique was implemented to assess the disintegration performance. The formulation yielding the best tensile strength was TPS + 30% AV + 10% PE, with an average of 9.64 MPa due to the crosslinking effect that occurred between TPS and 30% AV gel and grafting formation between TPS + 30 % AV with 10% PE. The increment in melting and decomposition temperatures of TPS + 30% AV film verified the crosslinking performance between TPS and 30% AV. At the same time, the grafting of 10% PE on TPS + 30% AV film is supported by a decrement in water solubility percentage. The film's thickness, visual appearance, functional group changes, and crystallinity were also assessed. The TPS + 30% AV + 10% PE was considered biodegradable since 99% of the film disintegrated in the synthetic solid waste based on ISO 20200. The Hill model was chosen as the most suitable kinetics model to represent the disintegration behavior of TPS + 30% AV + 10% PE with the highest R2, lowest RMSE, and accuracy factor (AF) greater than one and closer to 1. Three phases of the disintegration process were proposed: fragmentation, hydrolysis, bioassimilation, and mineralization. The increment in weight loss percentage, void formation, and TPS functional compound disappearance suggested the proposed disintegration process. The increment in water contact angle percentage validated the disintegration mechanism. In conclusion, this study revealed the benefits of 30% AV gel and 10% PE in enhancing the TPS film. The disintegration ability of TPS + 30% AV + 10% PE within 90 days based on ISO 20200 suggests its high potential to be used as a commercialized biodegradable film packaging with a suitable application.
format	Thesis
qualification_name	Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.)
qualification_level	Doctorate
author	Abd Karim, Siti Fatma
author_facet	Abd Karim, Siti Fatma
author_sort	Abd Karim, Siti Fatma
title	Characterization and disintegration performance of thermoplastic starch-based film incorporated with aloe vera gel and polyethylene / Siti Fatma Abd Karim
title_short	Characterization and disintegration performance of thermoplastic starch-based film incorporated with aloe vera gel and polyethylene / Siti Fatma Abd Karim
title_full	Characterization and disintegration performance of thermoplastic starch-based film incorporated with aloe vera gel and polyethylene / Siti Fatma Abd Karim
title_fullStr	Characterization and disintegration performance of thermoplastic starch-based film incorporated with aloe vera gel and polyethylene / Siti Fatma Abd Karim
title_full_unstemmed	Characterization and disintegration performance of thermoplastic starch-based film incorporated with aloe vera gel and polyethylene / Siti Fatma Abd Karim
title_sort	characterization and disintegration performance of thermoplastic starch-based film incorporated with aloe vera gel and polyethylene / siti fatma abd karim
granting_institution	Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)
granting_department	College of Engineering
publishDate	2023
url	https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/102205/1/102205.pdf
_version_	1818588036251779072

Characterization and disintegration performance of thermoplastic starch-based film incorporated with aloe vera gel and polyethylene / Siti Fatma Abd Karim

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