. Conclusion
Results have shown significant differences in properties
between cast and hot-pressed films.
The process of cryo-crushing
cast films followed by hydration and then hot-pressing changed
the morphological features and improved the thermal stability of
the starch films. The process also improved the uniform distribution
of fibres in the starch matrix. As such, the process based on
hot-pressing is a better method to prepare starch–fibre films.
It was demonstrated that adding bagasse fibre increased the
Young’s modulus, and for the films containing 5 wt% fibre, the
tensile strength of the materials was also enhanced. There was
a slight reduction in moisture uptake with fibre addition (except
at 98%RH) possibly because of increased bulk crystallinity of the materials.
The amount of moisture content in the films significantly
impacted on the mechanical properties of the films due to its weakening
effects. However, grinding bagasse fibres down to micron
size range without delignification might improve the resistance of
starch films to moisture uptake. Reactive extrusion is an available
option that will be explored to enhance the bonding between starch
and bagasse fibres. While nanofibres are beneficial, producing such
from bagasse is not economical for the global objective of producing
cheap starch-based materials from sugarcane bagasse.