Plastic from cassava, is it possible?
If the question above was put forward to the team of Directorate of research and the Community’s service (DPPM) the Indonesian Islamic University (uii) Yogyakarta,Indonesia certainly his answer not only “possibly”, but “could”.
And so that had been carried out by Feris Firdaus, Sri Mulyaningsih, and Endang Darmawan from this agency.
This question deliberate was put forward, considering the perception of most people against plastic apparently already the patent.
That is the material that could not hang loosely, because of being the synthetic polymer, or being made from the chemical that could not to degadrate by micro-organisms.
Was different from the foliage, that definitely will be destroyed by the bacterie.When the perception was still adhering to our marrow, using the pockets of the wrapper from plastic are the serious problem towards the environment in the period now and (moreover) in the future.
Plastic not only use for the wrapper, but often was used for various needs in the sector of the industry.Almost all the industrial product used plastic as one of the bases, at least to packaging or the package.
Why did plastic become the choice?Apart from being light, plastic also had various superiority.
For example waterproof, durable, transparent, and his price was relatively cheap.Not surprised if the waste of plastic continued to pile up.
Although some among them has repeated to recycled, factories of non-recycling plastic terns was productive.Imagined, the production of plastic all over the world around 100 million ton/the year.
This number will become the row measured every year, so as the waste of plastic that not to degradate repeated increasingly several fold.
Caused it, the research concerning the production of plastic that was biodegradable (environment-friendly) continued in foreign countries.Meaning that, the plastic material must be easy to degradate then not to pollute the environment.
The similar research also began to be developed in Indonesia, including that had been carried out by Feris Firdaus, Sri Mlyaningsih, and Endang Darmawan from DPPM-UII since the beginning the year their 2006. looked for alternative materials to make the polymer that was environment-friendly as well as from the material that could be renewed (renewable resources).
Feris and friends used the flour cassava (amylum) and “khitosan” (chitosan) to form the plastic film biodegradable as the alternative to the packaging.Apart from could be destroyed by naturally, this environment-friendly plastic also could repeated to degradate.
In view of the fact that the benefit size of this research, the Ministry of the Research and Technology gave the injection of the fund for the development of the following research.
Cassava flour was biopolimer the carbohydrate that was easy to degradate in the soil, and could be renewed.However the flour had the easy thin layer broken, especially by water, so as his characteristics must be reinforced materially other.
Prawns Shells
The team of the researcher from DPPM-UII mixed the flour and biopolimer was hydrophobic (waterproof).Biopolimer that was recommended was “khitosan”. that could be received and prawns shells or the animal from the Crustacea family other.
Caused chitosan was the compound that was not protracted in water, the solution to the strong alkali, and the sulphuric acid (H2SO4).He only a little was protracted in chloride acid (HCl) and the nitric acid (HN03).
The other superiority from material this was to be not poisonous, could be destroyed easily in the soil, and was polielektrolitic.they also was easy to interact with the other organic matter, like protein and fat.
It was interesting, the Feris and these friends used simple materials, in fact easy was encountered in the environment.
The flour material was extracted from cassava, where as the chitosan synthesized from the waste prawns shells.
Other materials were watery acetic acid, HCl, 1.25 N, NaOH 3.5 and 60 percent, glycerol, and aquades.
The extraction of the cassava flour was carried out with aquades, the next one was refined, was bent and dried.
Afterwards the dry cassava flour totalling 50 gr was dissolved in the blender contained pentanol-1 50 ml.The process of the isolation took place for five minutes.
The process of mixed polymerisation amilose and amilopektin this was begun with the heating of the temperature 80-90 oC with the increase aquades 300 ml, until was formed biopolimer.Then was mixt with glycerol (plasticizer) and mixed for three minutes.
After that was moulded in the PE moulding, was baked for 2 x 24 hours in the temperature 45 oC, then was released from the moulding and was conditioned in the temperature of the room for 24 hours.
The plastic film biodegradable that was produced this then was analysed and tested.The analysis of morphology was towards this film carried out by using the electric microscope.Afterwards was carried out by the characteristics test of mechanics, with the measurement of the sample 3 x 25 cm, used tenso the lab.
If the development of this research has had the stable form, in the near future Indonesia will have the environment-friendly plastic product, did not lose from Japan or another west countries that first has carried him out.
Moreover his material “only” came from cassava…
(Dian Kusumaningrum-32)
