Chemical characterization and tensile properties of a sugarcane bagasse-chemically modified starch composite structure developed for packaging purposes

Abstract

The aim of this study is to develop a bagasse fibre reinforced starch composite and to characterize its chemical and tensile properties. Chemical modification was done to improve the inferior mechanical characteristics of the starch polymer by treating it with sodium hydroxide, adipic acid, and mustard oil. Alkali-treated bagasse fibres were applied for better reinforcement. The FTIR data revealed that the chemical modification resulted in chain scissoring of starch owing to oxidation, but at the same time, an increase in the number of C-O-C bonds within and between adjacent chains of starch polymer was also observed. Up to 50 % reinforcement was implemented to fabricate the composite, where 43 % fibre loading was found optimum, showing the highest tensile strength and tensile modulus of 5 MPa and 459.36 MPa, respectively. Moreover, the SEM images also demonstrated better interfacial bonding between bagasse and starch at the same reinforcement. Comparison with previous research and a few currently existing packaging materials in terms of tensile properties showed encouraging outcomes of this study.