Scribd
Upload
1K views3 pages

Bio Plastic

The document summarizes an experiment to produce plastic from banana peels. Banana peels were selected because they are rich in starch. Through a series of pilot experiments, two treatments were tested: 1) dipping peels in sodium metabisulfite before boiling and pureeing with 0.1M HCl and NaOH, and 2) the same process with 0.5M acids and bases. Peels were boiled, dried, pureed to a paste, mixed with acids/bases/plasticizer, and baked to produce plastic sheets. Plastic strength, thickness, and shelf life were evaluated. The experiment followed safety precautions and used common lab equipment.

Uploaded by

Abubakker Siddiq
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
1K views3 pages

Bio Plastic

The document summarizes an experiment to produce plastic from banana peels. Banana peels were selected because they are rich in starch. Through a series of pilot experiments, two treatments were tested: 1) dipping peels in sodium metabisulfite before boiling and pureeing with 0.1M HCl and NaOH, and 2) the same process with 0.5M acids and bases. Peels were boiled, dried, pureed to a paste, mixed with acids/bases/plasticizer, and baked to produce plastic sheets. Plastic strength, thickness, and shelf life were evaluated. The experiment followed safety precautions and used common lab equipment.

Uploaded by

Abubakker Siddiq
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Research

The banana fruits peel was selected for this experiment because it is a waste material
rich of starch-according to Songklanakarin Journal of Science and Technology, the proximate
composition of a banana peel is shown below.
Items Content (g/100 g dry matter)
Protein: 8.60.1
Fat:
13.10.2
Starch: 12.780.9
Ash: 15.250.1
Total dietary fiber: 50.250.2
The banana peel is something we throw away every day, but little do we know, it has
much more efficient uses. For example, in Thailand, 200 tons of banana peels are thrown away
daily and this number increases each year (Pangnakorn, 2006) and in the fruit industry, banana
peels make up around 30-40g per 100g of the total revenue. All those peels may be put into much
more use.
According to The Packaging Bulletin Magazines January issue, it is a proven fact that starch and
cellulose are important raw materials used in the bioplastic industry (Packaging Bulletin, 2009).
Since they are rich with starch and this starch is very easy to extract, potatoes are the most
commonly used raw materials. In RSCs Making plastic from potato starch experiment, a
simple way of making plastic from potato starch is introduced and the chemical basis of the
process is explored in depth. The propane-1,2,3-triol used in the experiment functions as a
plasticizer, an additive used to develop or improve the plasticity of a material. It disconnects the
polymer chains from one another; restraining them from becoming rows of chains and acquiring
a crystalline structure. The formation of the crystalline structure is undesired because it is a
brittle and fragile structure which makes the plastic brittle and fragile as well. Instead of the
crystalline structure, the formation of film (not becoming rows of chains of polymers) is desired.
Starch consists of two different types of polymer chains, called amylose and amylopectin, made
up of adjoined glucose molecules. The hydrochloric acid is used in the hydrolysis of
amylopectin, which is needed in order to aid the process of film formation due to the H-bonding
amongst the chains of glucose in starch, since amylopectin restricts the film formation. The
sodium hydroxide used in the experiment is simply used in order to neutralize the pH of the
medium.

Method / Testing and Redesign


Simalarly sized bananas with no injury or bruises on the skin were purchased from the
bazaar in order to ensure the experimental process was fair. These bananas were at the color
index of 4 (green-yellow) according to the CSIRO banana ripening guide (CSIRO, 1972).
A large variety of pilot experiments were done in order to establish the effects of placing the
banana peels in 0.5% Na2S2O5 solution, using different concentrations of HCl and NaOH, using

different amounts of banana paste, on the quality of the plastic produced. Based on the results of
the 12 pilot experiments, the following 2 experiments were selected and were repeated four
times:
1.

Dipping the banana peels in 0.5% Na2S2O5 solution prior to the boiling and pureeing
processes and using 0.1 M HCl and NaOH solutions in the production of the plastic.
2.
Dipping the banana peels in 0.5% Na2S2O5 solution prior to the boiling and pureeing
processes and using 0.5 M HCl and NaOH solutions in the production of the plastic.
These treatments were selected based on the quality of the plastic produced by means of
thickness, strength and shelf life.

Preperation of banana skins:


1.
The peels of the bananas were removed using a stainless steel knife.
2.
An 800ml beaker was filled with distilled water and placed over a Bunsen Burner.
3.
The banana peels were placed in the beaker and were boiled for 30 minutes.
4.
After the boiling process, the beaker was removed from the Bunsen burner and the peels
were decantated off the water and placed on and covered with a dry gauze pad, left to dry
for 30 minutes.
5.
After the peels were dried, they were placed in a clean 800ml beaker.
6.
Using a hand blender, the peels were pureed until a fluid paste was formed.
Production of the plastic:
1.
25ml of banana paste was placed in each 50ml beaker.
2.
3ml of HCl was added and the mixture was mixed using a glass stirring rod.
3.
2ml of propan-1, 2, 3-triol was added to each beaker. The mixture was stirred again.
4.
3ml NaOH was added and the mixture was stirred once more.
5.
The mixture was poured into a petri dish and put in the oven at 130C. It was baked for
half an hour.
Materials and Safety Precautions:
All measurements were made as precisely as possible. For safety precautions, surgical gloves
were worn throughout the experiment. The experiment was conducted at a labaratory in the Koc
High School and the following equipment was used:

Glass pipette
Beakers
Bunsen Burner
Glass stirring rod
Oven

Petri dish
Gauze pad
Spring scale

STRENGTH TEST: The strength of the plastic was determined by applying a 4N pulling force
on the plastic from the opposite sides and determining whether or not the plastic broke.
The thickness of the plastic was determined by using a ruler. The shelf life(decay) was assesed
by visual inspection on a daily basis (The darkening of the plastic suggested decay). All
qualitative and quantitative data was recorded.

You might also like