Starch - Coumarin Composite Films with Microcrystalline Cellulose - Biopolymer Blends as Biodegradable Plastic Materials Amaliya Sita Permatasari, Rachmawati Rachmawati*
Inorganic and Physical Chemistry Division, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jl. Ganesha 10, Bandung 40132, West Java, Indonesia
* Corresponding author: rachmawati[at]itb.ac.id
Abstract
This research is a reference for developing starch-based plastic composite materials with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). The low mechanical properties of starch biofilms necessitate the formation of inclusion complexes and the addition of a compatible polymer, such as cellulose. In this research, starch inclusion complexes were formed with coumarin molecules. The micro size of cellulose was added to fill the film matrix. In addition, using coumarin molecules in composite films can be an alternative method of adding aroma to bioplastic. The mass ratio of the plastic components were varied to produce bioplastics with good physical, good homogeneity and visual properties. The resulting plastic were analyzed to study their mechanical properties (tensile strength, strain, and Young^s modulus). The biodegradability properties were tested against microorganisms. Based on the results of mechanical tests, it was found that the double plasticizers used were PEG 200:glycerol (1:1) with a concentration of 20% (w/w), stirring time of 30 minutes and sonication of 50 minutes. The supporting biopolymers used were xanthan gum, karaya gum, and poly(vinyl) alcohol. The biodegradation test showed that Aspergillus Niger could degrade the starch film composite well. In addition, the starch - coumarin/xanthan gum complex composite showed the highest resistance to samples containing Trichoderma sp, Rhizobium sp, Azotobacter sp, Actinomycetes sp, Aspergillus sp, Bacillus sp, Lactobacillus sp, Pseudomonas sp.
