The Addition of Tobacco Stem Powder in the Cassava Peels Biodegradable Plastic

Abstract

Plastic waste has become an environmental problem for all countries. People dispose goods made of plastic causing a build-up of waste because it is difficult to degrade. For this reason, it is necessary to develop environmentally friendly plastics known as biodegradable plastics. This study used starch extracted from cassava peel as base material and tobacco stem powder as a natural reinforcement. Beside the cassava peel starch and tobacco stem powder, glycerol is needed as plasticizer. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of tobacco stem powder and glycerol addition variations on the mechanical properties. This study is designed using a completely randomized design with two factors and three replication. The parameters observed were mechanical properties (thickness, tensile strength, elongation, modulus young) and the morphology of thickness. The results show that the addition of tobacco stem powder and glycerol had a significant effect on mechanical properties. The addition of tobacco stem powder and glycerol could increase the thickness value of biodegradable plastic between 0.173-0.283 mm. The elongation value obtained were inverse with the tensile strength value. The modulus young value was between 0.08-0.81 MPa.