Mechanical and biodegradable properties of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fiber reinforced banana peel starch/polyvinyl alcohol hybrid biocomposites for packaging application.

Synthetic plastic is difficult to disintegrate quickly, making it an environmental issue. The alternative solution is to produce bioplastics based on banana peel starch using polyvinyl alcohol as a matrix and cellulose fiber from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) as reinforcement. This study aims to analyze the rate ofbiodegradation and mechanical properties ofbioplastics based on banana peel starch and PVA with the addition of OPFB fiber reinforcement with cellulose fiber variations of 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%. Based on the study's results, the percentage of degradation with the fastest treatment was without the addition of cellulose fiber variations, with an average weight loss percentage of 31.2% on day 3, 36.3% on day 6, and 44.9% on day 9. The addition of OPEFB cellulose fiber causes the biodegradation rate to be slower because OPEFB cellulose is hydrophobic. In testing the mechanical properties, the highest tensile strength was the addition of 8% cellulose fiber with a tensile strength of 3.6 MPa, a strain at break of 22%, and a modulus of elasticity with a percentage value of 16.1 MPa. The mechanical property values obtained indicated that OPEFB cellulose fiber could improve the mechanical properties of the biocomposite. This result informs that the OPEFB fiber-reinforced banana peel starch/polyvinyl alcohol hybrid biocomposites could have the potential for food packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]