Made by –Robin Singh (45)
Shantanu raut (81)
Abhijeet Selukar (84)
Yash Sable (91)
Bioplastics are plastics derived from
renewable biomass sources, such as vegetable
fats and oils, corn starch, straw, woodchips, food
waste, etc.
Bioplastic can be made from agricultural by-
products and also from used plastic bottles and
other containers using microorganisms.
Common plastics, such as fossil-fuel plastics
(also called petrobased polymers) are derived
from petroleum or natural gas. Not all bioplastics
are biodegradable nor biodegrade more readily
than commodity fossil-fuel derived plastics.
The main objectives of this study are:
To carry out a literature review on plastics and
bioplastics in Mauritius and abroad.
To investigate the feasibility of local potato as
main feedstock.
To perform tensile stress, strain, elasticity and
young’s modulus test on some bioplastic
samples produced.
To perform an economic analysis of a designed
plant of potato starch based bioplastic and to
check for its economic feasibility.
1. Petroleum plastic
Petroleum plastics are plastic that originate from
petroleum monomers that are chemically
processed to produce polymers. They do not
degrade as easily as bioplastic.
2. Degradable plastic
Degradable plastics are plastic that have been
manufactured along with a particular blend of
biodegradable additives in order to alter the
chemical characteristics of the product when
exposed to specific environmental conditions.
3. Biodegradable plastic
From the ASTM definition, a biodegradable
plastic is a plastic that can be degraded by the
action of naturally occurring microorganisms
such as bacteria, fungi and algae or by the
action of sunlight and water.
4. Bioplastic
Bioplastic is a type of plastic that is derived
from natural raw materials such as biomass
and corn starch. This type of plastic will
degrade when exposed to environmental
conditions such as moisture, naturally
occurring microorganisms such as bacteria,
fungi and algae or in a composting condition.
Biodegradable plastics are plastics produced
from natural materials that are mostly organic
materials such as corn, pea starch, cellulose
based materials and potato.
Biodegradable are considered as substitutes
to degradable plastics since they have many
characteristics that favors them concerning
their environmental benefits.
Biodegradable plastics can be classified as follows:
Cellulose based plastics : Cellulose based plastic are plastics
produced from cellulose resources such as wood and other plant
materials.
Polylactic acid (PLA) plastic: PLA is derived from natural
resources such as cornor sugarcane(glucose).It can be processed
easily on conventional petroleum plastic machinery and has many
similar characteristics.
Polyethylene derived from biomaterials: Polyethylene can
be derived from biomaterials such as the fermentation of corn or
sugarcane. It is a polymer of ethylene which can be produced
from ethanol.
Starch based plastics: Starch based plastics are plastic
produced from starch which possesses the ability to observe
plastic properties similar to thermoplastic polymers
Starch-based plastic is an interesting alternative to
degradable plastics since they present multiple
advantages.
Starch is a naturally occurring soluble carbohydrate
that can be obtained from various raw materials
such as corn, potato, cassava ,rice and sweet potato
It can either be recycled or reused as well as
composted thus offering environmental benefits
over degradable plastics
When the starch based plastic is composted, the
compost is returned back to the raw material and
when it is reused or recycled, the manufacturer
recycles the bioplastic for future use.
Starch : Starch is a naturally occurring soluble
carbohydrate that can be obtained from various
raw materials such as corn, potato, cassava,rice
and sweetpotato. Starch is produced by plants
mainly as an energy reserve.
Starch exhibits some similar properties as
polymers when subjected to hydrolysis.There
exists two type of molecules in starch namely
unbranched molecules which consist of glucose
and branched molecules which consist of
amylose and amylopectin.
The shapes as well as the size of the granules of
the starch are important factors to be considered
during processing concerning their properties
10g of dried potato starch was diluted with 40ml
distilled water in a 500ml beaker.
The beaker was brought on a heater plate including a
magneticstirrer.
A magnet stick was added in the beaker and let stirring
at 2r.p.m.
10ml of 7.6% Acetic acid was pipetted in the mixture
12ml of 1% glycerol wasadded.
The heater was switched to100oC.
The mixture was allowed to heat for about 15 mins and
the stirrer was brought to 3 r.p.m as the mixture
washardening.
The mixture took about 5 min to form an opaquegel.
The gel was spread on a mold of 2 mmthickness.
The sample was allowed to dry.
Potato starch 7.6 % Acetic acid(Vinegar)
1% Glycerol
Slurry produce by heating the mixture
Corn starch
Starch Water (ml) Glycerin(ml) Vinegar(ml)
25 35 9 5
25 50 15 15
10 40 5 8
10 40 10 10
Potato starch
Starch Water (ml) Glycerin (ml) Vinegar(ml)
25 35 10 5
10 40 10 5
10 40 12 10
15 50 18 15
Biodegradability test
Biodegradability test : for 1 week
Potato starch – 50% (partially decompose where its size reduced and has
numerous pores)
Corn – 75 %
Solubility : Around 8-10%
Thickness : varies from 0.1-0.5 cm
