THE CHARACTERISTICS OF BIODEGRADABLE FOAM PACKAGING BASED ON CORN HUSK POWDER, TAPIOCA STARCH, AND VARIOUS CONCENTRATIONS OF BEESWAX USING THE THERMOPRESSING METHOD

• Main Author: Afra Sanchia, Michaela
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/75060
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Styrofoam packaging is the most commonly used type of packaging for various needs. Styrofoam offers several advantages, such as portability, product preservation, water resistance, and cost-effectiveness. However, However, styrofoam has had negative effects on the environment dan health. Therefore, an environmentally friendly and safe alternative packaging is needed, known as biodegradable foam. Biodegradable foam is an environmentally friendly packaging material made from natural substances that easily decompose in nature. However, biodegradable foam made solely from starch is brittle, hydrophilic, and has low mechanical strength. Thus, additional materials are required to improve these characteristics, such as fibers obtained from corn husk powder, which contains a high cellulose content of up to 44.08%, and beeswax, which is hydrophobic and improves water absorption of the biodegradable foam. The objective of this research is to determine the effect of adding beeswax on the characteristics of corn husk and tapioca-based biodegradable foam using the thermopressing method, and to identify the optimal beeswax concentration. This study used a completely randomized design (CRD) with one factor and six repetitions. The factor used was the concentration of beeswax, with four levels: BW1 (1.8% beeswax), BW2 (2.7% beeswax), BW3 (3.5% beeswax), and BW4 (4.4% beeswax). The research variables analyzed were water absorption, biodegradability, tensile strength, and density. The results showed that the combination of corn husk powder, tapioca starch, and beeswax significantly affected the water absorption, biodegradability rate, and density, but did not significantly affect the tensile strength. BW1 with 1.8% beeswax concentration was determined to be the optimal treatment as it resulted in the lowest water absorption value (11.77%), high biodegradability (9.08%), high tensile strength (3.73 MPa), and low density (0.47 g/cm3). In comparison to the standard commercial biodegradable foam brand Synbra Technology and styrofoam EPS Industry Alliance, the water absorption, biodegradability rate, and tensile strength values of the optimized biodegradable foam were better. However, the density value still fell short of the standard.