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Production of bio-plastic from tapioca pearls starch
Summary
Researchers made a plant-based, biodegradable plastic using tapioca (the starch behind boba pearls), plus natural food dyes from beetroot and turmeric instead of synthetic chemicals. Unlike regular plastic, which sticks around for centuries and breaks down into microplastics that end up in our food and water, this tapioca plastic fully decomposes in soil, water, or with the help of microbes. That matters because swapping everyday plastic items for compostable alternatives like this could mean less plastic pollution and fewer microplastics working their way into our bodies over time.
Bio-plastic are an ecofriendly alternative to conventional plastics derived from renewable resources like starch. The biodegradable plastic can be prepared with the help of different types of starch such as corn starch, potato starch and tapioca starch. Tapioca starch is used in the preparation of biodegradable plastic because of its renewable, biodegradable, non-toxic, cost effective, water solubility and film forming ability. Tapioca is extracted from the cassava plant, scientifically known as Manihot esculenta. Tapioca is commonly known as cassava. Tapioca pearls were taken from nearby store, and the pearls were grinded with the help of mortar and pestle to obtain a fine powder of tapioca starch. Organic colors were used in preparation of bioplastic because they are ecofriendly, non- toxic, biodegradable and cost effective. The organic color used in the preparation of bioplastic was magenta and yellow which was extracted from beetroot and turmeric. The preparation of bioplastic was carried out in lab. The tapioca pearl starch was then added in given amount in aluminium container with required amount of glycerin, vinegar and distilled water over flame. Then the sheet of bioplastic was prepared by spreading it over and drying it at room temperature respectively. Similarly, the same procedure was followed and the mixture was poured in moulds of different shapes to obtain desired shape toy. The bioplastic sheet and toy were observed and their characteristics were noted. These bioplastics were then allowed to degrade by various methods like soil degradation, water degradation and microbial degradation. In this paper Bioplastic which we prepared is useful because it is ecofriendly alternative to regular plastic and also it is biodegradable, safer for humans and animals, non- toxic, renewable, it reduces plastic pollution and has low carbon footprint.