The development of plastic polymer technology has brought many benefits in human life, and is also widely used today. Plastic is a hydrocarbon polymer produced from petroleum. Polystyrene foam is one of the most commonly used plastic due to its high strength, low density and low cost.[1] However, utilization of this materials has led to serious problems either for environment or human health. Plastic's molecular structure is very complex, has fairly good resistance to microorganisms and is relative impermeable. These properties make it difficult for the plastic to be degraded naturally, so the plastic is accumulated, causing pollution and environmental damage.
Many researches of new plastic materials have been developed starting from pure biopolymer until blending of biopolymer with synthetic polymers. One of the alternative solutions to address the plastic problem is through the development of biodegradable plastic by using starch-based foam. Starch has been investigated widely for the potential manufacture of biodegradable foam. Unfortunately, starch-based foams produced have high moisture sensitivity and poor mechanical properties, which caused the limitation in the application. Some also improved biofoam properties by using mixtures of starch, fiber and water blending starch with synthetic polymers such as poly caprolactone, poly vinyl alcohol and poly lactid acid, and by fiber reinforcement using lignocelluloses such as corn hominy.[1-6]
Starch-based foam can be produced by using many techniques, including extrusion or hot mold baking.[7] The foam baking process includes two main steps: the first one is starch gelatinization and water evaporation, expanding the mixture and forming foam,↕and the second one is drying the foam to a final moisture content of 2–4%.[3, 8]
Addition of fiber influenced the biofoam hydrophobicity and inpregnation of polyvinil alcohol improved the foam strength and flexibility.[3, 9, 10] In this research, cassava starch was used as the main carbohydrate source for preparation of biofoam, and cocopeat was used as a filler to reinforce the foam. Cocopeat also called coconut coir dust is an agricultural by-product obtained after separation of fiber from the coconut husk. About 34% of cocopeat is produced from coconut husk, and consists of crude fiber (20–30%), and lignin (65–70%).[11] Cocopeat has some characteristics which support its function as filler, low bulk density (0.04–0.08 g/cm3) and high air-filled pore space and water-filled pore space at container capacity range from 85.5–89.5%(v/v) and 73.3–80.0%(v/v), respectively.[12] In this research, addition of cocopeat to starch-based foam was expected to improve the mechanical and physical properties of foam.
The development of plastic polymer technology has brought many benefits in human life, and is also widely used today. Plastic is a hydrocarbon polymer produced from petroleum. Polystyrene foam is one of the most commonly used plastic due to its high strength, low density and low cost.[1] However, utilization of this materials has led to serious problems either for environment or human health. Plastic's molecular structure is very complex, has fairly good resistance to microorganisms and is relative impermeable. These properties make it difficult for the plastic to be degraded naturally, so the plastic is accumulated, causing pollution and environmental damage.Many researches of new plastic materials have been developed starting from pure biopolymer until blending of biopolymer with synthetic polymers. One of the alternative solutions to address the plastic problem is through the development of biodegradable plastic by using starch-based foam. Starch has been investigated widely for the potential manufacture of biodegradable foam. Unfortunately, starch-based foams produced have high moisture sensitivity and poor mechanical properties, which caused the limitation in the application. Some also improved biofoam properties by using mixtures of starch, fiber and water blending starch with synthetic polymers such as poly caprolactone, poly vinyl alcohol and poly lactid acid, and by fiber reinforcement using lignocelluloses such as corn hominy.[1-6]
Starch-based foam can be produced by using many techniques, including extrusion or hot mold baking.[7] The foam baking process includes two main steps: the first one is starch gelatinization and water evaporation, expanding the mixture and forming foam,↕and the second one is drying the foam to a final moisture content of 2–4%.[3, 8]
Addition of fiber influenced the biofoam hydrophobicity and inpregnation of polyvinil alcohol improved the foam strength and flexibility.[3, 9, 10] In this research, cassava starch was used as the main carbohydrate source for preparation of biofoam, and cocopeat was used as a filler to reinforce the foam. Cocopeat also called coconut coir dust is an agricultural by-product obtained after separation of fiber from the coconut husk. About 34% of cocopeat is produced from coconut husk, and consists of crude fiber (20–30%), and lignin (65–70%).[11] Cocopeat has some characteristics which support its function as filler, low bulk density (0.04–0.08 g/cm3) and high air-filled pore space and water-filled pore space at container capacity range from 85.5–89.5%(v/v) and 73.3–80.0%(v/v), respectively.[12] In this research, addition of cocopeat to starch-based foam was expected to improve the mechanical and physical properties of foam.
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