Development of Thermoplastic Cassava Starch Composites with Banana Leaf Fibre

Aburpa Avanachari Sivakumar (), Cristian Canales, Ángel Roco-Videla () and Manuel Chávez
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Aburpa Avanachari Sivakumar: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Varuvan Vadivelan Institute of Technology, Dharmapuri 636703, India
Cristian Canales: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Concepción, Concepcion 4070409, Chile
Ángel Roco-Videla: Facultad de Salud y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de las Américas, Providencia, Santiago 7500975, Chile
Manuel Chávez: Department of Civil Engineering, University Andres Bello, Concepción 4300866, Chile

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: Growing environmental concerns have heightened interest in the development of environmentally friendly materials. The purpose of this study is to evaluate how the mechanical and thermal properties of thermoplastic cassava starch (TPCS) are affected by the presence of banana leaf fibre (BLF). By incorporating between 10% and 80% by weight of banana leaf fibre into the TPCS matrix, the biocomposites were created. The thermal and mechanical parameters of the samples were determined. The results revealed that the material’s flexural and tensile characteristics improved significantly, with 50% BLF content in the matrix achieving the highest strength of 20.86 MPa, a flexural strength of 32 MPa, and tensile modulus values. Thermogravimetric examination observed that the addition of BLF improved the material’s thermal stability. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) morphological tests demonstrated an even spread of banana leaf fibre and a matrix with strong adhesion, which improved the mechanical properties of the biocomposites. The Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) testing, which confirmed the biocomposite presence of O-H bonds, also confirmed the strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding between TPCS and banana leaf fibre.

Keywords: bees wax; fibre; FT-IR; mechanical properties; SEM; sustainable material (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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