Biodegradable hydrophobic biocomposite based on green banana starch associated with bacterial cellulose

ABSTRACT

In this work, a biodegradable biocomposite was developed, the green banana starch (GBS) associated with bacterial cellulose (BC) and glycerin (GL), aiming for application in rapid disposability products. For starch extraction, green bananas were washed, cut and submerged in 1% sodium bisulfite, stored in the refrigerator for 24 h, crumbled in a blender with distilled and sieved water. The precipitated starch was disposed of on Petri dishes and dried in an oven at 37°C. A complete factorial planning was carried out to evaluate the best composition with hydrophobic and hydrophilic characteristics with 3 central points, totaling 11 samples, the influence of BC bran concentration at levels 10 and 30 g/L, concentrations of 0 and 16 g/L and methyltriethoxisilane (MTES) in the silanization stage in concentrations of 0 and 4% in alcoholic solution. The contact angle analysis allowed identifying samples’ hydrophobicity, proving silanization effectiveness. Based on the contact angle measurements of the samples, the proof bodies for characterization were produced containing 20 g/L of BC, 8 g/L of GL and 4% silane since the higher concentration of silane, the greater material hydrophobicity. The infrared spectroscopy analysis with Fourier transform (FTIR) pointed out the silane characteristics bands, proving the chemical reaction with MTES, and it is also possible to see the existence of starch, BC and GL. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) demonstrated that the maximum degradation temperature of the sample GBS /FBC/GL_cs silanized (4%) is T_max3= 310 °C. With the soil degradability test, it was possible to identify that the functionalized samples take longer to degrade than those not silanized because of their barrier moisture, a characteristic that slows down microorganisms’ degradation.

Keywords
Green banana starch; Bacterial cellulose; Biopolymer; Disposable products