Plastic Is A Synthetically Made Polymeric Material

Plastic is a synthetically made polymeric material.
It is made by polymerization of complex

organic materials and can be moulded into various forms or film, can be pressed into thin
filaments or fibres by the application of heat and pressure. As formed of crossed-linked
monomeric units, this provides polymers rigidity and thermal stability. Types of plastic
include PVC, polystyrene (polymerised styrene, CH=CHC6H5), polyethylene (polymerized
ethylene, CH2=CH2), and polypropylene (polymerized propylene CH2=CHCH3). In plastic
packaging, plastic polymers PVC and polyethylene of higher density and low-density
polyethylene are used commonly [1]. The usage of plastic is wide enough in all our daily use
such as food packaging, school, office, automotive, communication, transportation,
pharmaceuticals, household materials, lamination, packing of materials and many other fields
due to its advantage of being flexible, transparent, low weight, cost efficient, thermal and
chemical stability, solar radiant, insulating properties and resistant to microbial degradation
[2].
Today most of the available plastic is synthetically produced from basic raw materials, crude
oil and natural gas and several other chemicals serve as starting materials for manufacture of
various plastics [3]. World-wide over 140 million tons of petroleum-based polymers are
produced every year and used in manufacture of plastics and its derivatives from raw
materials natural gas, crude oil, and coal [4]. Also, these synthetic plastics are non-
biodegradable and they remain in the environment for long, causing the landfill deposition
problems, toxicity, deposition in water bodies thereby increasing the Biological Oxygen
Demand (BOD), disturbing the carbon chain, and adversely affects the biodiversity. Along
with this burning of plastic causes air pollution, emission of green-house gases and
incineration. Out of this disposed plastic only 10% is recovered by recycling for the
production of low-grade products and the left portion is reduced to dust and degrade in very
long time [5]. Since the depletion of fossils & chemical energy, land use and combustion of
fossil fuel all are contributing factors of harmful impact on environment, so there is
consistent need to change the current industrialisation and lifestyle to a sustainable way and
prevent plastic usage [6].
Food producers and consumers are constantly searching for the most economical,
sustainable and effective methods for food packaging. From plastic to glass to aluminium
cans,
all forms of packaging have their benefits and complications. Aluminium packaging is a
method that has been trusted and used consistently and, until recently, consumers have been
naive as to how harmful this form of packaging truly is. Various diseases including dementia
and Alzheimer's have been linked to the aluminium can through seepage of harmful
chemicals.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of consumers are unaware of the connection between their
canned foods and Alzheimer's disease. Once consumers begin to gain this knowledge, the
packaging industry will need to shift from aluminium canning to a method of packaging that
is
much less harmful [7]. The use of bioplastic films for food products and technology is still
limited. Therefore, more intensive research needs to be developed, because bioplastics has
very good potential in food and packaging industry. Organic wastes peels of banana peels
citrus peels become part of biomass in digestion for energy but the presence of pectin can be
extracted before it enters bio digestion.
The waste organic peels of banana and citrus is rich in pectin and it goes unextracted in
biodigester for energy. Pectin is a natural substance found in most of the food plants. Pectin is
a polymer of D-galacturonic acid linked by α-1,4- glycoside bonds. Pectin consists of good
gel-properties so it can be used to make edible packaging. Pectin can be obtained from the
peel of fruits such as banana, cocoa and orange peels. Development of active packaging with
the addition of antimicrobial can improve the film microstructure, mechanical properties
(tensile strength and percent elongation) [8]. So, extraction of pectin can be used as coatings
or can be made as foils that can replace plastics.
Objectives
The main aim of project is to develop an alternative source of plastics that is biodegradable,
nature friendly and cost effective as well.
i. To determine pectin composition in waste banana peel by FTIR Spectroscopy.

ii. To develop coating from extracted pectin from waste banana peels.
iii. To conduct FTIR Analysis on synthesized bioplastic.
iv. To perform solubility and swelling test for the developed film.
v. To test for mechanical and thermal properties and conduct morphological studies.
Literature survey
This paper talks about the use of banana peel and corn starch to make a bioplastic film. The
concentration of corn starch is varied from 1% to 5%. Elongation test conducted on a film with 4%
corn starch concentration showed highest tensile strength. FTIR result obtained for 4% corn starch
showed that most of the peaks were comparable. To check the thermal properties DSC(Differential
screening calorimetric) was used and showed a melting temperature of 67.8℃ for 4% corn starch
[1].
In this paper bioplastic from banana peels with the use of sodium metabisulphite and glycerol was
obtained. It was observed that with the use of sodium metabisulphite the growth of bacteria was
prevented. The flexibility of bioplastic was increased by adding optimum percentage of glycerol.
Sodium hydroxide was used to neutralize the pH level and the use of hydrochloric acid is to form
hydrogen bonds among the chain of glucose in starch as amylopectin present in banana peel restricts
the film formation [2].
The development of bioplastic with the use of eggshells, chitosan and potato starch was discussed in
the paper. Chitosan and eggshells acts as fillers to overcome inherent drawbacks of bioplastic. Four
bioplastic films were produced with no fillers, with eggshells as fillers, with chitosan as fillers and
with both chitosan and eggshells as fillers. It was observed that adding fillers improved the
performance of film in terms of strength, biodegradability and water absorptivity. Use of eggshells as
fillers showed better performance than chitosan in potato starch [3].
The edible film made from banana flour and banana puree (Musa AAA) were estimated the
mechanical properties, water vapor permeability (WVP), color and solubility. The potassium
metabisulfite (KMS) and ascorbic acid were used as the browning prevention chemicals. The banana
flour film had 3x2 factorials experiment design (Flour 3% and 5%, glycerol 1% and 2% and 2
chemicals KMS and ascorbic acid). The results showed that the film made from banana flour was
higher tensile strength (TS), elongation (E), water vapor permeability (WVP) and L value than the film
made from banana puree. The obtained film would be applicable for food packaging to protect foods
[4].
The aim of this paper is to study the factors affecting the viscosity of bioresin obtained from raw
banana peels. Design of experiments under Minitab software with viscosity as response and factors
like temperature of curing, time of curing, resin quantity, amount of glycerin and water content was
conducted. Central composite rotatable design was preferred over Box Behnken. Regression analysis
showed that resin quantity was the most influential factor for viscosity of bioresin [5].

Plastic Is A Synthetically Made Polymeric Material

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Plastic Is A Synthetically Made Polymeric Material

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Plastic Is A Synthetically Made Polymeric Material

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Plastic is a synthetically made polymeric material.

It is made by polymerization of complex

i. To determine pectin composition in waste banana peel by FTIR Spectroscopy.

You might also like