CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

An image of a plastic bag with a large black cross and the words written above it

are NO TO PLASTIC BAGS. A strong message is also conveyed: the bags are

awful. How odd can this situation get? In this form of public pedagogy, there is no

space for ambiguity about the meanings or consequences of plastic materiality.

Plastic bags are being transformed into hazardous waste from harmless, disposable

containers, when scientists discover marine life choking on bags and environmental

activists document the bags' endless future in landfills (Hawkins, G., 2010).

Plastics are a crucial commodity for civilization, also offering features that cannot

be replaced by other products conveniently or economically. After hundreds of

years, most plastics are durable and last. These materials have replaced metals in

most consumer goods materials, including computers, car parts, and refrigerators,

making them cheaper, lighter, cleaner, and easier to recycle. Plastic has largely

replaced paper, glass, and cardboard in packaging, lowering prices and carbon

emissions while ensuring better protection for the goods they cover. The world

needs to find a middle ground that allows us to continue to be exposed to plastics

while avoiding these severe consequences. Bioplastics, which are made partly or

entirely from biological materials rather than crude oil, are an effective way to keep

the benefits of conventional plastics while reducing their drawbacks (Chris,

G.,2011).

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 There has been considerable growth in plastics since then. With the discovery of

plastics, life became much more convenient somehow as it has a wide range of

applications. Plastics are used in modern life in home appliances, electrical

appliances, medical devices, manufacturing, vehicles and packaging. Thanks to their

durability and above-mentioned uses, plastics have become an integral part of

human life. But despite of that, its biggest effect is its harm to the community and

human nature.

Bioplastics are plastics that are produced from sustainable biological sources

such as trees, sources of bacteria and algae. Microorganisms in the soil, such as

bacteria and fungi, can destroy these without releasing toxins. Furthermore, the use

of renewable resources in their production is critical to maintaining environmental

sustainability. Bioplastics have a number of advantages over conventional plastics,

including decreased reliance on fossil fuels, non-toxicity, ease of recycling, lower

manufacturing energy requirements, and sustainability and environmental

friendliness. Exploring bioplastic development may play a major role in shaping the

economy and viability of products (Rajendran, N. et al., 2012).

First, bioplastics shows how business models by developing new technologies

and products can connect producers and consumer. Chemical companies have

assumed that lowering prices, rising yields, and improving better feedstock supplies

would ensure the commercial success of bioplastics, but there are a number of

unforeseen road blocks. Companies must establish bioplastics markets and ensure

that customers are processing bioplastics in an environmentally friendly manner.

They believe that companies are best suited to creating business models that

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effectively market bioplastics while also improving and mobilizing their "dynamic

skills" in the area of sustainability. DuPont, BASF, and Braskem have found new

market opportunities for bioplastics, built unique business models to capitalize on

these opportunities, and developed ways to add value to downstream organizations

by communicating performance benefits and reducing environmental impacts(Martin,

A.N.,2013).

Second, the relevance of the ecosystem to long-term sustainability cannot be

overstated. Any global development plan that ignores the climate is essentially a

house constructed on sand. In its early days, the plastic industry seemed to be a

blessing to humanity. However, since it has been overused over time, it has had a

negative effect on society. Climate change and resource constraints, especially for

fossil fuels, have rekindled interest in the creation of plants for the long-term

production of a wide range of chemicals and materials. While much of the recent

focus has been on using plants to produce biofuels including bioethanol and

biodiesel, plants can also be used to make a wide variety of useful chemicals and

biomaterials. Biopolymers currently account for a small but growing portion of the

polymer industry.

A portion of these materials have unmistakable attributes that make them better

than engineered polymers, particularly in medication, where solid survey are

biocompatibility and biodegradability, biomaterials. In any case, actually look alluring

temperances like the life span, force and low value needed to be recorded in

shopper results of low worth for an enormous scope. Along these lines, just a little

part of the potential substance market is as of now covered by biomaterials with the

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noticeable discharge of characteristic elastic, cellulose and suberin (as found in

stopper). To improve the performance of biomaterials, new biopolymers and

production technologies are needed(Ashik, S. et al, 2014).

Bioplastics are 21st century new materials and would be of vital importance to the

environment of materials. Throughout the world in the future, bioplastic production

and consumption will grow larger. Over this, the quality and waste management of

these products must be carefully assessed. This analysis therefore contains the

performance status of bioplastic materials, focusing on bioplastics benefits or

disadvantages. It also provides an overview of the requirements of bioplastics.

Due to growing environmental concerns/ legislative pressure on plastic waste

and rapid rises in petroleum prices, the production of “environmentally friendly”

materials has attracted considerable interest. Bioplastics have recently been

developed as one of the most advanced environmentally friendly materials. The

global market for bioplastics is thought to grow at a rate of 20%-25% per annum. We

have certain advantages like lower carbon footprint, freedom, energy efficiency, and

eco-safety. We have some drawbacks, however, such as high costs, recycling,

reduction of raw materials, misuse of words and lack of legislation (Bezirhan,

E.,2015).

Packaging has become increasingly necessary in recent years, with over 67

million tons of packaging waste causing environmental concerns. The use of

additives like fillers, colorants, and plasticizers in the manufacture of polymers for

packaging applications, for example, necessitates several different processing steps.

Biological, economic and safety problems have produced biodegradable for many

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scientists. Natural products such as polysaccharides (e.g. starch, cellulose, chitin,

and lignin), proteins (e.g. gelatine, casein, and wheat gluten), and lipids are used to

make bioplastic raw materials (e.g. plant oils and animal fats). Since starch can be

easily obtained from most Indonesian plants, starch-based bioplastics technology

has a lot of potential in Indonesia.

Starch is made of long chains linked together by glucose

molecules. It comprises two polymers: straight-chained amylose and branched

amylopectin. As starch is drained from an aqueous solution, due to hydrogen

bonding between the chains, it forms a film. Amylopectin, on the other hand,

prevents the creation of the film. The amylopectin is broken down by the

hydrochloric acid reaction of the starch, resulting in a more acceptable film. This is

the portion that learners make when they don't have propane-1,2,3-triol. The straight

starch chains (amylose) will line up, making a good film that is brittle due to the

chains' ability to line up. The film can become crystalline in certain areas, resulting to

have brittleness(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2016).

This study was conducted to determine the ability of bio-based starch-

synthesized plastics. The process started with the extraction of starch from selected

high starch tubers, potatoes and yams. The samples were grated, ground, and

strained to obtain crude starch, then centrifuged and rinsed to obtain pure starch.

The chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties of the products were investigated

using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), tensile strength testers, and

thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The occurrence of absorption peaks of O-H, C-H,

C=O, and C-O in the FTIR spectra of the material suggests that bioplastic formation

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has already undergone. The highly biodegradable plastic has been demonstrated

using soil burial tests, which found that the percentage of soil biodegradation for

potato and yam-based bioplastics in one week is 43 percent and 26 percent,

respectively. These bio-based plastics have shown strong, highly biodegradable

thermal and mechanical properties, making them an acceptable alternative to

existing conventional plastics (Ismail, N. A., et al, 2016).

The idea of materials derived from nature with the environment benefits of being

biodegradable and/or bio-based (often called bioplastics) is very compelling to

industry and consumers. Bioplastics currently play an important role in the fields of

food, forestry, gastronomy, consumers electronics and automotive, but they still

have a relatively small share of total plastics production (currently about 1% of the

nearly 300 million tons of plastic produced every year). Biodegradable plastics are

often thought to be a viable solution to the pollution problem. Chemical reactivity, on

the other hand, is only one more characteristic of the substance that must be used in

specific terms at the end of its existence, in a specific disposal ecosystem, and at a

specific period that is often overlooked. These should be used as a preferred choice

for applications that require a cheap way to dispose of the item after it has done its

job (Maja, R.J. et al, 2017).

Different industrial sectors produce about 100 million tons per year of synthetic

packaging plastic. Annually they generate plastic waste about the same amount as

that. In the meantime, the need for plastic packaging is 2.3 million tons per year.

Biodegradable plastic technology therefore needs to be developed because

biodegradable plastic can break down in the soil faster than commercial plastic

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which can minimize plastic waste. Biodegradable plastic is plastic that may be

damaged by operation of decaying micro-organisms. The value of biodegradable

plastic is the same as traditional plastic or conventional plastic (Fathanah, U., 2018).

Bioplastics are increasing on the market as renewable products that are

challenging from the circular economy viewpoint to boost the lifecycle of plastics. In

addition, the process conditions of the experimental setup, such as temperature, test

period and waste composition, differ regularly across the wide range of studies and

in compliance with the international test standard. The different methods are pointed

out in the analysis in terms of process conditions and control methodologies and

illustrated in order to find important connections between the results obtained and

the experimental procedures. These observed correlations allow critical conclusions

about technique efficiency and the effect of the key abiotic factors on the bioplastic

biodegradation process to be made. The increasing production of bioplastics and

their successful consumer uses has inspired an interest in evaluating bioplastic

biodegradation under the process conditions used in the treatment of the organic

fraction of solid municipal waste (Ruggero, F., et al,2019).

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