Thermal, mechanical, and physical properties of seaweed/sugar palm fibre reinforced thermoplastic sugar palm Starch/Agar hybrid composites

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of sugar palm fibre (SPF) on the mechanical, thermal and physical properties of seaweed/thermoplastic sugar palm starch agar (TPSA) composites. Hybridized seaweed/SPF filler at weight ratio of 25:75, 50:50 and 75:25 were prepared using TPSA as a matrix. Mechanical, thermal and physical properties of hybrid composites were carried out. Obtained results indi- cated that hybrid composites display improved tensile and flexural properties accompanied with lower impact resistance. The highest tensile (17.74 MPa) and flexural strength (31.24 MPa) was obtained from hybrid composite with 50:50 ratio of seaweed/SPF. Good fibre-matrix bonding was evident in the scan- ning electron microscopy (SEM) micrograph of the hybrid composites’ tensile fracture. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) analysis showed increase in intermolecular hydrogen bonding following the addition of SPF. Thermal stability of hybrid composites was enhanced, indicated by a higher onset degradation temperature (259 ◦C) for 25:75 seaweed/SPF composites than the individual seaweed com- posites (253 ◦C). Water absorption, thickness swelling, water solubility, and soil burial tests showed higher water and biodegradation resistance of the hybrid composites. Overall, the hybridization of SPF with seaweed/TPSA composites enhances the properties of the biocomposites for short-life application; that is, disposable tray, plate, etc

Characteristics of thermoplastic sugar palm Starch/Agar blend: Thermal, tensile, and physical properties

The aim of this work is to study the behavior of biodegradable sugar palm starch (SPS) based thermoplastic containing agar in the range of 10–40 wt%. The thermoplastics were melt-mixed and then hot pressed at 140◦C for 10 min. SEM investigation showed good miscibility between SPS and agar. FT-IR analysis confirmed that SPS and agar were compatible and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds existed between them. Incorporation of agar increased the thermoplastic starch tensile properties (Young’s modulus and tensile strength). The thermal stability and moisture uptake increased with increasing agar content. The present work shows that starch-based thermoplastics with 30 wt% agar content have the highest tensile strength. Higher content of agar (40 wt%) resulted to more rough cleavage fracture and slight decrease in the tensile strength. In conclusion, the addition of agar improved the thermal and tensile properties of thermoplastic SPS which widened the potential application of this eco-friendly material. The most promising applications for this eco-friendly material are short-life products such as packaging, container, tray, et

Characteristics of Eucheuma cottonii waste from East Malaysia: physical, thermal and chemical composition

The aim of this paper was to examine the characteristics of Eucheuma cottonii waste in order to analyse its potential as renewable material. The morphology of Eucheuma cottonii (raw and wastes) was investigated through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the thermal behaviour through thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and the physical properties through FT-IR, XRD, gas pycnometer, particle size analyser, water absorption and moisture content analysis. The chemical compositions were determined by using acid detergent fibre (ADF), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL) analysis. It was found that Eucheuma cottonii wastes have better thermal stability, higher crude fibre content, lower moisture content and similar density to the raw Eucheuma cottonii, which suggests that these biomass wastes have good potential as renewable filler material

Effect of seaweed on physical properties of thermoplastic sugar palm starch/agar composites

The aim of this paper is to investigate the physical properties of thermoplastic sugar palm starch/agar (TPSA) blend when incorporated with seaweed. The ratio of starch, agar, and glycerol for TPSA was maintained at 70:30:30. Seaweed with various contents (10, 20, 30, and 40 wt.%) were mixed with TPSA matrix via melt mixing before compression were molded into 3 mm plate at 140oC for 10 minutes. The prepared laminates were characterized for moisture absorption, water absorption, thickness swelling, water solubility, and density. The results showed that increasing seaweed loading from 0 to 40 wt% has led to a drop in moisture content from 6.50 to 4.96% and 9% reduction of the density. TPSA matrix showed 52.5% water uptake and 32.3% swelling whereas TPSA/seaweed composites (40 wt% loading) showed 97% water uptake and 74.8% swelling respectively. Higher water solubility was also shown by TPSA/seaweed composites (57 wt%) compared to that of the TPSA matrix (26 wt%). After 16 days of storage, the equilibrium moisture content for TPSA and TPSA/seaweed (40 wt% loading) were 23.2 and 25.2% respectively. In conclusion, TPSA/seaweed composites show good environmental friendly characteristics as a renewable material. In future, the properties of this material can be further improved by hybridization with more hydrophobic fillers for better resistance against water

Characteristics of thermoplastic sugar palm starch/agar blend: thermal, tensile, and physical properties

The aim of this work is to study the behavior of biodegradable sugar palm starch (SPS) based thermoplastic containing agar in the range of 10–40 wt%. The thermoplastics were melt-mixed and then hot pressed at 140◦C for 10 min. SEM investigation showed good miscibility between SPS and agar. FT-IR analysis confirmed that SPS and agar were compatible and inter-molecular hydrogen bonds existed between them. Incorporation of agar increased the thermoplastic starch tensile properties (Young’s modulus and tensile strength). The thermal stability and moisture uptake increased with increasing agar content. The present work shows that starch-based thermoplastics with 30 wt% agar content have the highest tensile strength. Higher content of agar (40 wt%) resulted to more rough cleavage fracture and slight decrease in the tensile strength. In conclusion, the addition of agar improved the thermal and tensile properties of thermoplastic SPS which widened the potential application of this eco-friendly material. The most promising applications for this eco-friendly material are short-life products such as packaging, container, tray, etc

Degradation and physical properties of sugar palm starch/ sugar palm nanofibrillated cellulose bionanocomposite

This paper aims to study the degradation rate of sugar palm nanofibrillated cellulose (SPNFCs) and sugar palm starch (SPS). SPNFCs were isolated from sugar palm fiber, while SPS is extracted from sugar palm trunk. The SPNFCs were reinforced with SPS biopolymer as biodegradable reinforcement materials of different diameter/length based on the number of passes of high pressurize homogenization process (5, 10 and 15 passes represented by SPS/SPNFCs-5, SPS/SPNFCs-10, and SPS/SPNFCs-15). These SPNFCs were incorporated into SPS plasticized with glycerol and sorbitol via solution casting method. Soil burial experiment performed on SPS and SPS/SPNFCs bionanocomposites showed that SPS was degraded more rapidly by losing 85.76% of its mass in 9 days compared to 69.89% by SPS/SPNFCs-15 bionanocomposite. The high compatibility between SPNFCs nanofiber and SPS biopolymer matrices can be observed through field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM)

Effect Of Sugar Palm Nanofibrillated Cellulose Concentrations On Morphological, Mechanical And Physical Properties Of Biodegradable Films Based On Agro-Waste Sugar Palm (Arenga Pinnata (Wurmb.) Merr) Starch

Sugar palm (Arenga pinnata) fibres and starches are considered as agro-industrial residue in the agricultural industry. This paper aims to investigate the effect of different concentrations (0–1.0 wt%) of sugar palm nanofibrillated cellulose (SPNFCs) reinforced sugar palm starch (SPS) on morphological, mechanical and physical properties of the bionanocomposites film. The SPNFCs, having a diameter of 5.5 ± 0.99 nm and length of several micrometres, were prepared from sugar palm fibres via a high-pressure homogenisation process. FESEM investigation of casting solution displayed good miscibility between SPS and SPNFCs. The FTIR analysis revealed good compatibility between the SPS and SPNFCs, and there were existence of intermolecular hydrogen bonds between them. The SPS/sPNFCs with 1.0 wt% had undergone an increment in both the tensile strength and Young’s modulus when compared with the SPS film, from 4.80 MPa to 10.68 MPa and 53.97 MPa to 121.26 MPa, respectively. The enhancement in water barrier resistance was led by reinforcing SPNFCs into the matrix, which resulted in bionanocomposites. The properties of bionanocomposites will be enhanced for short-life applications, such as recyclable container and plastic packaging through the incorporation of SPNFCs within the SPS bionanocomposites

Effect of seaweed on mechanical, thermal, and biodegradation properties of thermoplastic sugar palm starch/agar composites

The aim of this paper is to investigate the characteristics of thermoplastic sugar palm starch/agar (TPSA) blend containing Eucheuma cottonii seaweed waste as biofiller. The composites were prepared by melt-mixing and hot pressing at 140 °C for 10 min. The TPSA/seaweed composites were characterized for their mechanical, thermal and biodegradation properties. Incorporation of seaweed from 0 to 40 wt.% has significantly improved the tensile, flexural, and impact properties of the TPSA/seaweed composites. Scanning electron micrograph of the tensile fracture showed homogeneous surface with formation of cleavage plane. It is also evident from TGA results that thermal stability of the composites were enhanced with addition of seaweed. After soil burial for 2 and 4 weeks, the biodegradation of the composites was enhanced with addition of seaweed. Overall, the incorporation of seaweed into TPSA enhances the properties of TPSA for short-life product application such as tray, plate, etc

Effect of Agar on Flexural, Impact, and Thermogravimetric Properties of Thermo- plastic Sugar Palm Starch

Development of new polymer from renewable resources is getting serious attention from researchers due to environmental issue caused by petroleum based polymer. The aim of this paper is to study the behavior of sugar palm starch (SPS) based thermoplastic containing agar in the range from 10 to 40 wt%. The thermoplastics were melt-mixed and then hot pressed at 140oC for 10 minutes followed by flexural, impact, and thermogravimetric analysis. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) showed that incorporation of agar increased the char residue content from 9.17 to 10.87 wt%. For mechanical properties, the addition of agar had improve the flexural strength and modulus of SPS/agar blends. The impact strength of thermoplastic SPS was increased respectively with addition of agar. However, at higher agar content (30 wt% to 40 wt%), the impact strength was decreased which attributed to high rigidity of material at this ratio. In conclusion, incorporation of agar has improved the flexural, impact, and thermal properties of thermoplastic SPS which widened the potential application of this biopolymer in future