Thermal Properties and Moisture Absorption of LDPE/Banana Starch Biocomposite Films
Keywords:
LDPE, Starch, EVA, BiocompositeAbstract
The aim of this research is to investigate the effects of starch and compatibilizer contents on the thermal properties and moisture absorption of new polymeric-based biocomposite films from low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and banana starch. The compatibilizer used in this work was ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA). Banana starch was extracted from green banana using 0.05N sodium hydroxide solution. Banana starch content was varied from 5 to 20% by weight of LDPE, whereas EVA content was 0, 5, 10, and 20wt% based upon banana starch content. The average size of extracted starch granules was 21-24 μm, whereas the density of the starch was 1.74 g/cm3. Addition of banana starch had no effect on the melting temperature of LDPE/banana starch films. Similarly, EVA had no influence on the melting temperature, but did affect the degree of crystallinity of the biocomposite films. For thermal stability, it was found that the LDPE/banana starch with 20% EVA had the highest thermal stability. As expected, moisture absorption of the films increased as the amount of banana starch was increased. The films containing 20% banana starch absorbed moisture up to 4.5%. However, the absorption decreased with increasing EVA content.
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