INTRODUCTION:

Plastics is categorized into Micro, Meso and Macro debris. Approximately 25 million tons of plastics are produced by the plastics industry every year¹. Although polymer collection for recycling is widely carried only a small proportion is actually remade into materials. The majority is incinerated to reclaim energy^2,3 Most plastics currently used are non-biodegradable, and cause environmental damage particularly when washed into water-courses⁴. The development of biodegradable plastics has become one of the major concerns in the present society because the disposal of the plastics has pointed out their major weaknesses. Biodegradable plastics which also known as green plastics are plastics made from biodegradable polymer materials. Braun egg et al. (1998) defined biodegradability as the capability to be broken down, especially into innocuous products by the action of living things, known as microorganism⁵. Many biomaterials have been identified for the production of bioplastic such starch, seaweeds⁶ and waste materials etc. Starch and cellulose are two of the most abundant polysaccharides, and both are homoglycan polymers^7,8 and are used in the production of bioplastic. Many modifiers have been used to plasticise starch including; glycerol⁹, sorbitol¹⁰, water¹¹, urea¹², ethanolamine¹³ and formamide¹⁴. have been identified which could improve the plasticity. Bio plastic prepared using the banana peel serve as potential alternative to the conventional plastic material. Making bio plastic from banana peel instead of traditional petroleum based plastic is believed to be successful solution to increase efficiency of plastic industry. This report introduces a scientific method to generate bio plastic from banana peels and helps to reduce pollution¹⁵. By utilizing banana strips as a crude material we can deliver great quality bio plastics which has great life¹⁶. Starch was also used for the production of bioplastic^17,18. Starch was derived from many plant sources and used in wide variety of applications^19-27. This report acquaints a logical strategy with create bio plastic from banana strips and variety of starch derived from different materials and help to diminish the contamination¹⁶.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Collection of raw material:

Red banana and Green banana was collected from the local market in Selaiyur. Corn starch was also collected from local shop.

Extraction of starch from rice:

Raw rice was soaked in water overnight and was filtered. After filtering, it was allowed to settle down. The supernatant was discarded and settled starch was separated and stored.

Starch extracted from potato:

Potato was purchased from local market at Selaiyur and was cut into small pieces. The it was crushed by adding water and then filtered. Filtrate was allowed to settle and the settled starch was taken out carefully by decanting the supernatant.

Production of bioplastic with banana peel:

Red banana and Green banana peels were chopped into small pieces separately. Then it was boiled with water and filtered. Then the filtrate was discarded and the residue was allowed to dry at room temperature. Then it was cut in to small pieces and crushed with 2ml of 0.1N HCl and glycerol. Then this paste was spread on silver foil and was kept it oven for the removal of excess HCl and glycerol. Then it was cooled at room temperature for 20 min.

Bioplastic production by blending starch and banana peel:

Red banana and Green banana peels were chopped into small pieces separately. Then it was boiled with water and filtered. Then the filtrate was discarded and the residue was allowed to dry at room temperature. Then it was cut in to small pieces and crushed and the pieces were boiled with water for 30mins. Along with this, starch derived from different sources such as rice, potato and corn were added to it. Glycerol and HCl (0.1N) was added to this mixture increase plasticity. Then this paste was spread on silver foil and was kept it oven for the removal of excess HCl and glycerol. Then it was cooled at room temperature for 20 min.

Bioplastic production by blending with oil:

Along with banana peels oil was added and bioplastic was produced.

Analysis of Properties:

Solubility Test:

An amount of 0.25g of bioplastic was dissolved in 10 ml of solvents such as chloroform, ethanol and water and the solubility was observed for 5 days.

Elongation Test:

Bioplastic was cut into dumb bell shape and was stretched out on the ruler. Initial and final length was measured.

% Elongation= ((Final length – Initial length)/Initial length)*100

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:

Bio plastics are environmentally friendly to the nature and also can be degraded naturally. In this work, bio plastics were prepared from banana peels and also mixing with different types of starch.

Extraction of starch:

In preparation of rice starch, about 20gm of starch was extracted from 250gm of rice in 500 ml of water but in case of potato starch, more amount of starch was extracted (30g).

Table.1: Bioplastic with different blend

S. No.	Notation	Abbreviation
1	GB	Green banana peel plastic
2	RB	Red banana peel plastic
3	GBO	Green banana peel with oil blended plastic
4	RBO	Red banana peel with oil blended plastic
5	GBRS	Green banana peel with rice starch plastic
6	RBRS	Red banana peel with rice starch plastic
7	GBPS	Green banana peel with potato starch plastic
8	RBPS	Red banana peel with potato starch plastic
9	GBCS	Green banana peel with corn starch plastic
10	RBCS	Red banana peel with corn starch plastic

Bioplastic was produced from banana peels and blended with starch and different plasticizers. (Table 1) (Fig. 1 and 2).


Fig. 1: Green and Red banana peel	Fig. 2: Green banana with starch

Solubility test:

Solubility test was performed to analyse its biodegradability. Results showed that the all samples were insoluble in chloroform and partially soluble in water and ethanol (Fig.3-5) (Table.2). This confirms, these plastics are naturally and easily degradable.


Fig. 3: Solubility test with ethanol	Fig. 4: Solubility test with water

Fig. 5: Solubility test with chloroform

Table 2: Solubility test

Sample	Water	Ethanol	Chloroform
GB	Partially soluble	Partially soluble	Insoluble
RB	Partially soluble	Partially soluble	Insoluble
GBO	Partially soluble	Partially soluble	Insoluble
RBO	Partially soluble	Partially soluble	Insoluble
GBRS	Partially soluble	Partially soluble	Insoluble
RBRS	Partially soluble	Partially soluble	Insoluble
GBPS	Partially soluble	Partially soluble	Insoluble
RBPS	Partially soluble	Partially soluble	Insoluble
GBCS	Insoluble	Insoluble	Insoluble
RBCS	Insoluble	Insoluble	Insoluble

Elongation test:

Elongation test is used for determining the durability of the product. In elongation strength, RB plastic showed maximum elongation (31.81%), and least was found in RBPS, GBPS, GBCS and RBCS (0%) (Table.3)

Table.3 Elongation test

S. No.	Type of Plastic	% Elongation
1	GB	21.4
2	RB	31.81
3	GBO	18.18
4	RBO	13.63
5	GBS	20
6	RBS	25
7	GBPS	0
8	RBPS	0
9	GBCS	0
10	RBCS	0

CONCLUSION:

Environmental pollution is a big issue in this era. Finding an alternate to plastic will be a big solution for environmental pollution. In this work, bioplastic was found to be a best alternate to plastic. Much research is going on in this field. In this study, different banana peels and starch have been used for producing bioplastics and its results showed that these could be degraded easily. In future, degradation and other properties of bioplastic may be carried out and optimization of process parameter may also be done to make it commercially available.

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Received on 17.08.2020 Modified on 12.10.2020

Research J. Science and Tech. 2021; 13(1):44-48.

DOI: 10.5958/2349-2988.2021.00008.5