Development and Characterization of Starch Based Bioplatics Using Banana Peels

A number of significant issues had expedite owing to the increased use of conventional plastic, including the shortage of raw materials for the production of plastic and the buildup of non-biodegradable plastic debris on the planet. Use of ecologically friendly, biodegradable plastic made from renewable resources is one of the problem's promising solutions. The objective of this research is to describe the characteristics of the bio-plastic made from banana peels. In order to create a bioplastic using banana peel powder, a sulphuric acid catalyzed acetylation process was used in the study. The bioplastic produced from this process was then characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR). The FTIR spectra of the product displayed the presence of OH, C-H, C=O and C-O absorption peaks. The results of Chemical resistance test demonstrated that, the produced bioplastic was much closer to or had the same chemical resistance test as traditional plastic, allowing the prepared bioplastic to replace the latter. The new bioplastic also showed some biodegradability and was only slightly affected by acid, salt, and alkali. As a result, it was revealed that, new bioplastics with appreciable material properties could be made from agricultural waste. Hence it may be concluded that bioplastics degrades easily and faster than petroleum based plastics and can be a solution to the long lasted environmental problems caused by petroleum based plastics.