Experimental Analyses of Eco-friendly Plasticizer on Taro Starch-based Bioplastic for Injera Packing Application

This work aims to characterize the properties of taro starch-based bioplastic reinforced with bicarbonate and modified egg shells as reinforcement, which was manufactured as taro starch film with PVA and glycerol as a plasticizer. Films made of starch have drawbacks, including being mechanically weak, brittle, and having hydrophilic characteristics. This study looked into the bioplastic's XRD, FTIR, thermo mechanical, tensile testing, surface morphology, and moisture absorption in comparison to another bioplastic. According to the results, the film was composed of 4% taro starch, 4% PVA, 2% egg starch, 2% bicarbonate bio filler and plasticizer. The tensile strength of the samples was 92.6 MPa, which was the highest of all the samples. Furthermore, the amount of plasticized and bio fillers added to the taro starch film improved its tensile strength and thermal stability. The maximum water absorption in the films was loaded 45.5% retained. In terms of characterization, spectra of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) functional groups sampled results of OH, NH, CH aliphatic, C = O, C-O, C = C, S = O, and C-Br in the starch/PVA molecules were improved. Temperatures observed by differential scanning calorimetric (DSC) taro starch/PVA with bio filler for TS1-31 and TS1-32 Tg results from 113–131°C, Tc results from 138–156°C, and Tm results from 186–194°C, respectively, for all samples of BP film containing 4% taro. To the best of our knowledge, no investigation like this has ever been conducted. In general, the production of bio plastics can be substituted with a combination of starches from two separate sources.