Enhancement in the Physico-Mechanical Functions of Seaweed Biopolymer Film via Embedding Fillers for Plasticulture Application-A Comparison with Conventional Biodegradable Mulch Film

• Published in: Polymers Vol. 11; no. 2; p. 210
• Main Authors: M, Hasan, Chong, E W N, Jafarzadeh, Shima, Paridah, M T, Gopakumar, Deepu A, Tajarudin, H A, Thomas, Sabu, Abdul Khalil, H P S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26.01.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Algae; Bacteria; bio-degradable polymer film; Biodegradability; Biopolymers; Calcium carbonate; Contact angle; conventional film; Fermentation; Fillers; Glycerol; Hydrophobicity; Laboratories; Mechanical properties; Nitrates; Packaging; plasticulture application; Polymer films; Polymer matrix composites; Polymers; seaweed polymer; Seaweeds; Strong interactions (field theory); Synthetic products; Tensile strength; Water vapor; Malaysia; Selangor Malaysia; Norway; Japan; conventional film; bio-degradable polymer film; calcium carbonate; plasticulture application; seaweed polymer
• ISSN: 2073-4360; 2073-4360
• DOI: 10.3390/polym11020210

This study aimed to compare the performance of fabricated microbially induced precipitated calcium carbonate⁻ (MB⁻CaCO₃) based red seaweed ( ) bio-polymer film and commercial calcium carbonate⁻ (C⁻CaCO₃) based red seaweed bio-film with the conventional biodegradable mulch film. To the best of our knowledge, there has been limited research on the application of commercial CaCO₃ (C⁻CaCO₃) and microbially induced CaCO₃ (MB⁻CaCO₃) as fillers for the preparation of films from seaweed bio-polymer and comparison with biodegradable commercial plasticulture packaging. The results revealed that the mechanical, contact angle, and biodegradability properties of the polymer composite films incorporated with C⁻CaCO₃ and MB⁻CaCO₃ fillers were comparable or even superior than the conventional biodegradable mulch film. The seaweed polymer film incorporated with MB⁻CaCO₃ showed the highest contact angle of 100.94°, whereas conventional biodegradable mulch film showed a contact angle of 90.25°. The enhanced contact angle of MB⁻CaCO₃ resulted in high barrier properties, which is highly desired in the current scenario for plasticulture packaging application. The water vapor permeability of MB⁻CaCO₃ based seaweed films was low (2.05 ± 1.06 g·m/m²·s·Pa) when compared to conventional mulch film (2.68 ± 0.35 g·m/m²·s·Pa), which makes the fabricated film an ideal candidate for plasticulture application. The highest tensile strength (TS) was achieved by seaweed-based film filled with commercial CaCO₃ (84.92% higher than conventional mulch film). SEM images of the fractured surfaces of the fabricated films revealed the strong interaction between seaweed and fillers. Furthermore, composite films incorporated with MB⁻CaCO₃ promote brighter film, better water barrier, hydrophobicity, and biodegradability compared to C⁻CaCO₃ based seaweed polymer film and conventional mulch film. From this demonstrated work, it can be concluded that the fabricated MB⁻CaCO₃ based seaweed biopolymer film will be a promising candidate for plasticulture and agricultural application.