FIRA SYAFIQAH BINTI SAIFUL RAHIM (SIO160005)

PRODUCTION OF BIOPLASTICS BASED ON POTATO PEELS

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Over-exploitation and usage of plastic-based petroleum has obviously raised many

environmental problems in many countries. In fact, when it comes to concerning about the
depletion of petroleum resources as well as the environment and waste management, we
cannot escape from coming out with an alternative idea to replace this plastic-based
petroleum with biodegradable plastics or we call as bioplastic. According to Keshav (2015),
bioplastic can be defined as a plastic made up of natural raw materials such as biomass and
starch-based wastes which will decompose when some conditions are fulfilled including
moisture and presence of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and algae.

Producing bioplastic through microbial fermentation in the early days required high
cost as it involved the usage of microbes, nutrient medium and substrates as the carbon
source. Therefore, production of bioplastic based on agriculture waste seems to be the most
promising strategy to replace the original substrate that has already been known. Considering
Malaysia has abundant amount of agricultural wastes that have been burnt away every day
due to their low economic value, these wastes can be recycled to produce bioplastic in which
at the same time, can help to conserve waste as an approach to maintain environmental
quality. Thus, this research aims to reduce the plastic leftover on the planet by producing
bioplastic from agriculture waste (Zulkafli, 2014).

Potato peels can be one of the agriculture wastes used to produce bioplastic We know
that potato chips are being produced and consumed every day in this world. Since the
production is made at a very high scale, it is estimated that 10 to 30% of the potatoes peels
are left behind without being managed in a proper way. In fact, these peels can be used as a
material to develop bioplastic by extracting starch from these wastes which will eventualy
combat the problem of the waste management, especially the disposal of the wastes by
making bioproducts from the leftovers. This proposal highlights the method of production of
bioplastic from starchy material extracted from potato peels left after the production of potato
chips.

2.0 METHODOLOGY

This research focuses on making potato peel waste as the feedstock to produce bioplastic,
following the method by Goswami et al (2015).

Extraction of starch from potato peels Preparation of bioplastic

Degradation test
2.1 Extraction of starch from potato peels

Potato peels will be grinded with distilled water in 1:1 ratio using mortar and pestle. Then,
the mixture will be filtered using Whatman filter paper. The filtrate obtained will be decanted
in order to get the starch that is settled at the bottom. Distilled water will be added 2 to 3
times repeatedly in the crushed pulp to extract starch completely. Powdered starch obtained at
the bottom of the container will be dried completely using an oven 250°F for 30 minutes
(Nick Heath, n.d).

2.2 Preparation of bioplastic

The dried starch will be mixed with distilled water that is ten times of its dry weight. Later,
hydrochloric acid, distilled water and 50% glycerol solution will be mixed separately and
added to upper part of the starch solution. The mixture obtained will be heated at the
temperature of 200 to 210°C with continuous stirring until transparent and highly viscous
mass can be observed which will eventually turns into a watery liquid. The heat supply will
be stopped followed by making the resultant solution neutral by adding sodium hydroxide
and confirming the pH using pH meter. This mass will be spread evenly on aluminium foil to
produce bioplastic.

Potato starch comprises of two carbohydrate polymers: amylose and amylopectin in which
the latter one needs to be broken down to produce bioplastic as this is the only form that
starch can be plasticized. Amylopectin bond in starch can be broken by adding hydrochloric
acid which will form a more satisfactory film. 50% glycerol acts as a plasticizer which
provides flexibility to the bioplastic formed.

2.3 Degradation test

Same dimension of paper (cellulose base) sample and potato peel bioplastic will be taken and
weighed separately. Both mass will be jotted down separately. Both of the samples will be
then buried under the soil at the same depth with same pH, temperature, humidity, organic
matter, etc. This test will be done for 10 days.

3.0 EXPECTED OUTCOME

Bioplastic produced from potato peel waste can degrade faster when compared with paper. It
takes lesser time to break down this type of material into carbon dioxide, water and biomass.
Therefore, we can conclude that it is feasible to produce bioplastic from potato peels waste
especially from potato chips making industries.
REFERENCES

Goswami, G., Goswami, M. G., & Purohit, P. (2015). International Journal of Engineering
Research and Technology. In Bioplastics from Organic Waste. Retrieved from
https://www.ijert.org/research/bioplastics-from-organic-waste
IJERTCONV3IS23024.pdf

Keshav, S. (2015). Production of bioplastics(Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University

of Mauritius. Retrieved from file:///C:/Users/To
mmy/Downloads/Production_of_bioplastics_using_potato_s (2).pdf

Zulkafli, N. N. (2014). Production of Bioplastic from Agriculture Waste (Master's thesis,

Universiti Malaysia Pahang, 2014) (pp. 1-37). Pahang: Faculty of Chemical & Natural
Resources Engineering.