Development of packaging tray from sugar palm fiber (Mechanical Properties)

Musi, Abigail Livan (2022) Development of packaging tray from sugar palm fiber (Mechanical Properties). Project Report. Melaka, Malaysia, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka. (Submitted)

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Abstract

Environmental concerns regarding non-biodegradable polymers are rapidly growing. Several ecologically friendly materials have been developed to solve these critical problems. Biopolymer is a substance that can help since it biodegrades faster and is more environmentally friendly. Due to abundant availability, low cost, biodegradability and renewability, starch is used in biodegradable polymers. Thermoplastic starch (TPS) polymers are developed from a variety of natural sources that are biodegradable and compostable. TPS has gained popularity, yet it differs from other polymers in linear and branching topologies, resulting in considerable changes to its properties. Fibers are also used in fiber-reinforced composite materials, providing structure strength and stiffness. Natural fibers are mostly agricultural waste, which is useless to burn as fuel, exacerbating environmental concerns. Sugar palm fibers (SPF) are obtained from trunk, bunch, frond, and trunk surface, known as Ijuk, have been identified as a potential reinforcing element for the production of bio-based composites. In this research, the objectives are to develop a packaging tray by using thermoplastic cassava starch (TPCS) reinforced with various amounts of SPF, by investigating the material's mechanical and thermal properties. TPCS reinforced with SPF composite was made by mixing at high speeds, followed by a hot press. Several tests were performed to evaluate different properties. A thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) test was performed for the thermal properties of the composite, tensile and flexural testing to examine the mechanical properties. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and a Scanning Electrode Microscope (SEM) to examine the chemical interaction and morphological characteristics. The results shown in TGA that the TPS has lost the most weight, reducing overall thermal stability of the polymer matrix system, and as the SPF content increases, the thermal stability improves, which proves that composites with SPF of 40wt% and 50wt% has better thermal stability than the rest. In FTIR, the existence of O-H bonding in starch and fiber was indicated by the highest peak in the curve, which was at 3200–3500cm^(-1). The highest tensile strength achieved shown in tensile testing is when SPF content reaches 50%, whereas for modulus elasticity for tensile and flexural strength is achieved at the highest when SPF content at 40%. In SEM, it has shown that a high sample fiber loading has a good adhesion to the TPCS matrix but when it reaches the limit due to weak bindings between TPCS and SPF. This has proven that the TPCS reinforced with SPF composite outperforms the matrix material in terms of feature function. The SPF composite reinforced TPCS tray can be expected to be used as a biodegradable tray in the packaging industry. At the end of this study, an actual prototype of the packing tray is constructed successfully and can be considered as a fully functional prototype.

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