The Effect of Surface Modification by Sizing Agent on the Water Absorption Capacity of Cassava Starch‐based Biofoam Packaging

• Published in: Macromolecular symposia. Vol. 391; no. 1
• Main Authors: Iriani, Evi Savitri, Wahyuningsih, Kendri, Oktavia, Evi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.06.2020
• Subjects: alkyl ketene dimer; Biodegradability; biodegradable foam; Cassava; Compressive strength; Dimers; Factorial design; Hydrophobicity; Mechanical properties; Moisture content; Morphology; Natural polymers; oil palm empty fruit bunches; Packaging; Physical properties; Pulp; Reagents; Sizing; Starch; Surface chemistry; Water absorption; Water content
• ISSN: 1022-1360; 1521-3900
• DOI: 10.1002/masy.201900133

Biodegradable foam (biofoam) packaging is made from natural polymers as the main raw material and it is environmentally friendly. However, this packaging is water sensitive, thus it is not suitable for products with high moisture content. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of surface modification of cassava starch‐based biofoam, using Alkyl Ketene Dimer/AKD as sizing agent, on its hydrophobic characteristics. A completely randomized factorial design is carried out using two factors and two replications. Factor A is a type of pulp of oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) with different treatment modifications (pulp A; pulp B; pulp C) and factor B is the concentration of AKD (0%; 2.5%; 3.3%; 5.0%). Biofoam is made by thermopressing. Its characterization observed includes physical properties, mechanical properties, and morphological structure. The results show that surface modification of biofoam with AKD significantly effected its moisture content, density, water absorption capacity, and compressive strength. The addition of AKD externally as a sizing agent is able to reduce water absorption capacity by an average of 83.26% compared to biofoam without coating with AKD.