Synthesis and characterization of bioplastic film from banana (Musa Cavendish species) peel starch blending with banana pseudo-stem cellulosic fiber

The exponential growth of the human population has led to the accumulation of non-degradable waste materials across our planet. Bioplastics synthesized from only starch have less mechanical strength and thermal stability and can be improved by the addition of fillers. In this study, banana peel starch and banana pseudo-stem fiber was used for the synthesis of bioplastic film. The optimum process variables for starch yield were 27.66 min and 37.92 °C temperature, which gives a 12.06% maximum yield. The extracted starch was characterized as pH (6.31), moisture (7.2%), loss on drying (11.2%), amylose (19.3%), amylopectin (80.7%), and ash content (0.8%). For fiber density (1.43 g/cm 3 ), yield (8%), moisture content (61.3%), water absorptions (4.6%), and cellulose (55–60%) have been investigated. The cellulosic fiber was employed as reinforcing material to improve the produced film physicochemical and mechanical characteristics. The film was synthesized by conducting 20 experiments and analyzed by design expert 11 by considering three factors: dry oven temperature(35–65 °C), glycerol concentration (20–50%)w/v, and fiber concentration (5–20%) w/w of starch (5 g) basis. Three responses were tensile strength (TS), water absorption (WA), and elongation at the break (EA) of the synthesized bioplastic film. The result obtained in ranges were 0.2–7.25 Mpa TS, 4.9–31.01% EA, and 18.6–35.3% WA. The obtained results at the optimal point were 7.23 Mpa TS, 5.46% EA, and 18.60% WA at a combination of 56.5 °C dry oven temperature, 28.6% glycerol, and 18.26% fiber concentrations. The film is also characterized by TGA, DSC, and FTIR. This study indicates the incorporation of cellulosic fiber as a filler enhances the tensile strength, lowers water absorbent, and improves the thermal stability of starch-based bioplastic film.