Effect Of Grass Fibre On The Morphological And Mechanical Properties Of Thermoplastic Cassava Starch Composite

Khiruddin, Muhammad Afif Akmal (2018) Effect Of Grass Fibre On The Morphological And Mechanical Properties Of Thermoplastic Cassava Starch Composite. Project Report. UTeM, Melaka, Malaysia. (Submitted)

Text (24 Pages) Effect Of Grass Fibre On The Morphological And Mechanical Properties Of Thermoplastic Cassava Starch Composite.pdf - Submitted Version Download (318kB)

Abstract

Lately, the increasing of environmental issues had led to increasing attention on the development of biodegradable materials. Biopolymer made of renewable natural resources is a good alternative material to replace petroleum-based polymer since they are biodegradable and environmental friendly. Biopolymer from starch-based is one of the most promising due to the wide availability, low cost, renewable, biodegradable and abundant in nature. Cassava is one of the most abundant renewable resource for starch. This starch can be transform into thermoplastic with the presence of heat and shear. However, cassava starch biopolymer have some drawbacks such as poor morphological and mechanical properties that have limit their potential applications. These properties might be improve by using natural fibre as reinforcement for thermoplastic starch (TPS). Several methods have been use to improve the properties of thermoplastic cassava starch (TPCS) such as blending the cassava starch with glycerol together and reinforcement with imperata cylindrica fibre. The imperata cylindrica fibre attained by the extraction of cogon grass plant collected from the cropped wastes. To extract the fibres, imperata cylindrica soaked in water and then cleaned with water and kept dried before being shredded to obtain the fibres. Cassava starch and glycerol were first mixed by using high-speed mixer at 3000 rpm. Different amount of imperata cylindrica fibre (1, 3, and 5 wt%) were incorporated into polymer matrix. Dry-mixing method once again used to mix imperata cylindrica fibre with TPCS mixture using high-speed mixer at 3000 rpm. The homogeneous mixture poured into specified mould and compressed using hot press machine. In term of mechanical properties, tensile testing, impact testing and flexural testing have been carried out for the material. The improvement in mechanical properties in the composites were evidence following the addition of imperata cylindrica fibre into the TPCS. The tensile strength and tensile modulus for the TPCS reinforced imperata cylindrica fibre has increased than the polymer matrix. This finding was accompanied by the decreasing of elongation as more fibre incorporated with TPCS. The impact toughness decreased following the additional amount of imperata cylindrica fibre into TPCS matrix. In terms of morphological, the tensile fracture of TPCS and fibre break structure can be observe in this study. The morphological properties of the composite carried out by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). This investigation carried out to observe microstructure of cassava starch and reinforced biocomposites with different ratio of imperata cylindrica fibres (0, 1, 3 and 5 wt%). In general, the thermoplastic cassava starch (TPCS) polymer reinforced with imperata cylindrica fibre shows improved properties than the polymer matrix and have high potential in the production of biodegradable product such as packaging material and thin film.

Actions (login required)

View Item