Characterization of biodegradable plastic from jackfruit seed waste with the addition of rice straw cellulose

Department of Agroindustry Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Riau, 28293 Pekanbaru, Riau, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: yelmira.zalfiatri@lecturer.unri.ac.id

Abstract

Biodegradable plastic is an environmentally friendly plastic; most of the components come from renewable raw materials. Biodegradable plastic can be made from starch derived from waste such as jackfruit seeds. Biodegradable plastics made only from starch have poor physical and mechanical properties, so adding reinforcement such as cellulose is necessary. One of the wastes that contain cellulose is rice straw waste. This study aimed to obtain the best ratio of jackfruit seed starch and rice straw cellulose to biodegradable plastic’s physical and mechanical properties. This research was carried out experimentally using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with five treatments, namely the ratio of starch and cellulose PS1 (1:0,3), PS2 (1:0,4), PS3 (1:0,5) PS4 (1:0,6), and PS5 (1:0,7) with three repetitions, 15 experimental units were obtained. The data obtained was analyzed statistically using analysis of variance (ANOVA). If Fcount ≥ Ftable data is obtained, it will be continued with Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT) at the 5% level. The selected treatment was PS5 (starch ratio 1:0,7 cellulose) with had water absorption rate of 34,82%, water vapor transfer rate of 19,12 g/m2hour, tensile strength of 20,21 MPa, elongation of 5,33%, and biodegradation for 6 days. The results showed that the addition of rice straw cellulose had a significant effect on the value of water absorption, water vapor transfer rate, tensile strength, elongation and biodegradation of the resulting biodegradable plastic.