Baked foams made of a composite of starch
and fiber and equilibrated to a moisture content
of approximately 11% have better physical and
mechanical properties than foams made only of
starch, starch and CaCO3 or composites of
starch, CaCO3 and fiber. Starch/fiber foams
made of wheat, potato or tapioca starches had
properties superior to foams made of corn
starch. The properties of the starch/fiber foams
were within the range of commercial food containers
made of EPS or PB. The baked foams
are inherently weak in tension and have a lower
elongation to break than the EPS and PB samples.
Nevertheless, starch/fiber foams have good
flexibility, degradability and with the appropriate
coating material should function adequately
in single-use food containers.