Potential of the biodegradability & the characteristics of bioplastic from microalgae residues

Petroleum-based plastic has been widely used in many industries, however, it takes hundredth years to degrade and cause pollution to our environment. These problems lead to the invention of bioplastic that comprises of natural biopolymer from starch. The production of bioplastic from food-based starch such as tapioca and corn created competition between food and bioplastic making industries. Hence, this research study focus on producing bioplastic from microalgae residue which is a non-food based raw material that used four different types of plasticizers which are glycerol, sorbitol, glutaraldehyde and polyethylene glycol (PEG). Identification of microalgae species obtained from the fish pond at University Malaysia of Kelantan being done before thecultivation of microalgae species for 14 days. The microalgae residues were extracted out through the centrifugation process. Three species were identified under the light microscope, Chlorella sp., Scenedasmus sp. and Monoraphidium sp. The production of bioplastic involved a manual stirring method by using hotplate magnetic stirrer and then bioplastic was dried in the oven at 60°C. Results obtained showed that sorbitol and glycerol are suitable to be used as a plasticizer for the production of bioplastic from microalgae but not glutaraldehyde and PEG. Bioplastic that used PEG and glutaraldehyde was cracked and brittle after the drying process. The characterization of bioplastic that included universal tensile testing machine (UTM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) analysis and biodegradable test being proceed on glycerol-based and sorbitol based bioplastic. Characterization of bioplastic proved that both glycerol and sorbitol have high potential in the application for human daily life. Bioplastic that used sorbitol as a plasticizer can be applied in the production of plastic goods such as toys and household items due to its good resistance toward stress and less flexible. While bioplastic that used glycerol as a plasticizer can be applied in the production of plastic bags and plastic food wrap since it is stretchable and flexible.