Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 5 (2022) 100296

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Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/journals/
current-research-in-green-and-sustainable-chemistry/2666-0865

Extraction and development of starch-based bioplastics from Prosopis

Juliflora Plant: Eco-friendly and sustainability aspects
M.K. Marichelvam a, P. Manimaran b, M.R. Sanjay c, *, S. Siengchin c, M. Geetha d,
K. Kandakodeeswaran a, Pawinee Boonyasopon e, Sergey Gorbatyuk f
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi, 626005, Tamilnadu, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karpagam Institute of Technology, Coimbatore, 641 105, Tamil Nadu, India
c
Natural Composites Research Group Lab, Department of Materials and Production Engineering, The Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of
Engineering, King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB), Bangsue, 10800, Bangkok, Thailand
d
Department of Mathematics, Kamaraj College of Engineering and Technology, Madurai, 625 701, Tamilnadu, India
e
Department of Design Management and Business Development, Faculty of Architecture and Design, King Mongkut's University of Technology North Bangkok (KMUTNB),
Bangsue, 10800, Bangkok, Thailand
f
Department of Engineering of Technological Equipment in National University of Science and Technology MISIS, Moscow, Russia

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: As synthetic or petroleum-based plastics create a severe environmental impact, it is very essential to produce eco-
Bioplastics friendly bioplastics to meet the needs of both the commercial and industrial sectors. Several starch-based bio-
Prosopis juliflora plastics were already developed by researchers. However, most of them were produced from food grains such as
Starch
corn, potato, rice, and so on. In this paper, an attempt is made to extract starch from Prosopis juliflora and to
Packaging
develop sustainable bioplastics from the extracted starch. Six samples with different compositions are prepared.
Each sample is replicated 10 times and hence a total of 60 samples are prepared. Various tests such as tensile test,
water solubility test, water absorption test, water contact angle test, biodegradability test, and morphological
analysis were conducted. The test results reveal that the proposed starch-based bioplastics would be a better
alternative material to be used in packaging industries. Further, the usage of Prosopis juliflora would also reduce
the environmental impact significantly.

1. Introduction
Prosopis juliflora is an invasive plant species available in the hot re-
gion. It was introduced in many countries for 150 years. It is widely used
as fuelwood in many developing countries such as India [1]. Prosopis
juliflora is hard and withstands different environmental conditions such
as temperature, water/soil quality, humidity, etc. They are growing at a
faster rate as they have a higher success rate of germination success. They
also prevent the growth of other plants. They extract more amount of
water from the ground and hence kill other plants. The intrusive growth
of Prosopis juliflora would affect biodiversity and many other impacts [2].
Researchers have extracted fibers from Prosopis juliflora and analyzed
their properties [3–6]. The characterization of Galactomannan from
Prosopis juliflora was studied and the impact grinding machine with a
high-speed domestic grinder was used to seclude the Endosperm by
eliminating the seed coat and germ [7]. Researchers proved that tree
wood has a sufficient quantity of starch [8] and a simple method was
proposed to determine the quantity of starch in the wood [9]. Though
several researchers carried out their research work on Prosopis juliflora,
none of them have focussed on starch extraction from Prosopis juliflora for
bioplastics applications. Prosopis juliflora is available abundantly in many
countries like India. Hence, the objective of the present work is to extract
starch from this Prosopis juliflora to produce a sustainable bioplastic.
Around 50% of the bioplastics are made from starch as they have
several advantages like better tensile strength, biodegradability, ease of
manufacturing [10]. Pure starch is available in white color. It does not
have any explicit taste or smell, is biologically absorbable, non-toxic,
semi-permeable to carbon dioxide, and insoluble in cold water or
alcohol. Mainly starch consists of two types of molecules namely amylose
and amylopectin [11]. Based on the nature of the plant, the amylose
composition would differ from 20 to 25% and the amylopectin content
varies from 75 to 80% by weight. Amylopectin is a larger molecule than

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: mcemrs@gmail.com, mavinkere.r.s@op.kmutnb.ac.th (M.R. Sanjay).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crgsc.2022.100296
Received 7 December 2021; Received in revised form 21 February 2022; Accepted 6 March 2022
Available online 8 March 2022
2666-0865/© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
M.K. Marichelvam et al. Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 5 (2022) 100296

Fig. 1. (a) Prosopis Juliflora Plant, (b) Extraction of starch, (c) Starch settlement at the bottom, (d) Extracted Starch.

density, and moisture content. They concluded that the tensile strength
Table 1
and moisture content were decreased whereas the density was increased
Compositions of prepared samples.
with an increase in the amount of glycerol. Omotoso et al. [17] prepared
Sample No. Starch Gelatin Citric acid Glycerol Distilled water starch films from cassava, corn, potato, and yam. The effects of plasti-
Weight (in g) cizers namely glycerol and sucrose on the mechanical properties of the
Sample 1(S1) 10 2 1 3 100 film were investigated at six different levels. The results proved that
Sample 2 (S2) 10 2 2 3 100 glycerol would provide better results than sucrose due to its hygroscopic
Sample 3 (S3) 10 3 2 3 100 or hydrophilic nature. Ismail et al. [18] studied the chemical, mechani-
Sample 4 (S4) 10 3 2 4 100 cal, and thermal properties of starch derived from potato and yam.
Sample 5 (S5) 10 3 3 4 100
Sample 6 (S6) 10 3 3 5 100
Mendes et al. [19] also studied the morphology and thermal and me-
chanical properties of cornstarch-based bioplastics produced by extru-
sion. They used chitosan as a plasticizer. Oleyaei et al. [20] investigated
amylose. When the starch is heated starch gelatinization takes place and the effect of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles on potato starch for
it becomes a paste, soluble in water and the viscosity is also increased food packaging applications. The test results showed that the TiO2
[12,13]. A detailed literature review on starch-based plastics is presented nanoparticles improved the mechanical properties significantly. The
below. biodegradable poly (butylene succinate-co-lactate) (PBSL)/starch blends
Glycerol was used as a plasticizer, and it was reported that the with different amounts of starch and incorporated luffa fiber and kenaf
addition of citric acid would improve the solubility of starch. The con- fiber in 70/30 composition were prepared by Lai et al. [21]. They
sequences of citric acid on the properties of cornstarch-based bioplastics concluded that Young's modulus and flexural modulus improved by
were addressed [14]. Starch-based Bioplastics were produced from cas- adding the starch and further increased after the formation of the
sava peel reinforced with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). Sorbitol was biocomposites.
used as a plasticizer. The mechanical properties were improved by add- Edhirej et al. [22] prepared a cassava bagasse and sugar palm fiber
ing the MCC and sorbitol. This would be a good substitute for the existing hybrid composite using casting technique with cassava starch as matrix
plastic materials [15]. Gujar et al. [16] investigated the effect of glycerol and fructose as a plasticizer. Cassava starch/Cassava bagasse composite
on the mechanical and moisture absorption properties of film was prepared by the addition of different loadings of sugar palm
corn-starch-based bioplastics. They developed different bioplastics by fiber (2, 4, 6, and 8% w/w of dry starch) and found that the sugar palm
varying the amount of glycerol and determined the tensile strength, fiber appreciably prejudiced the physical properties and increased the

2
M.K. Marichelvam et al. Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 5 (2022) 100296

Fig. 2. (a) Applying starch film on Teflon glass plate. (b) Sample bioplastics film.

Table 2 Table 4
Tensile strength comparison of different samples. Mechanical properties of prepared samples.
Sample No. Tensile Strength (MPa) Sample Film Water Water contact Biodegradability
No. thickness solubility angle ( ) (%)
Sample 1(S1) 5.81
(microns) (%)
Sample 2 (S2) 4.15 Left Right
Sample 3 (S3) 2.95
S1 260  19 51.5  0.15 68.0 69.2 53.3  1.21
Sample 4 (S4) 2.65
  0.48
Sample 5 (S5) 2.47
0.92
Sample 6 (S6) 1.9
S2 270  18 52.8  0.16 69.5 68.9 56  1.34
  0.66
0.84
S3 276  17 57.2  0.17 72.7 72.8 54.6  1.12
Table 3   0.58
Comparison of tensile properties of different starch-based bioplastics. 0.68
Materials used Tensile strength (MPa) S4 360  16 66  0.16 74.2 74.1 67.8  1.36
  0.82
Amylomaize starch [44] 5.47 0.56
Banana starch [45] 5.00 S5 370  19 72.3  0.15 75.3 75.2 65.7  1.24
Carboxymethyl Starch [46] 0.65   0.24
Cassava Starch [28] 5.20 0.32
Chlorella þ polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) [47] 3.86 S6 390  16 82.6  0.14 76.4 76.6 70.3  1.32
Corn starch [30] 3.55   0.68
Corn Starch [16] 1.43 0.52
Corn starch [14] 4.81
Corn starch [19] 2.40
Corn Starch [48] 2.20
Corn starch þ TiO2 [30] 3.95 Table 5
Potato starch [18] 0.66
Film thickness comparison of different samples.
Potato starch [20] 2.66
Potato Starch [48] 1.94 Materials used Film thickness (microns)
Potato starch þ 0.5% TiO2 [20] 3.01
Cassava starch [25] 124
Potato starch þ 1% TiO2 [20] 3.86
Corn Starch [16] 508
Potato starch þ 2% TiO2 [20] 3.56
Corn Starch [19] 755
Prosopis juliflora starch (present work) 5.81
Prosopis juliflora starch (present work) 260
Sweet Potato Starch [29] 2.50
Yam starch [18] 1.92

Table 6
thickness and to decrease the density, water content, water solubility, Water contact angle comparison of different starch films.
and water absorption. The mechanical properties of bioplastics cassava
Sample No. Water contact angle ( )
starch film with Zinc Oxide were studied by the researchers [23]. The
nanofiller was taken as the reinforcement. The tensile strength of the Left Right
composites was significantly increased by adding Zinc oxide (ZnO) and a Corn starch [30] 46.34  0.91 32.50  2.27
drastic reduction in elongation at break. Bio nanocomposites films were Corn starch þ TiO2 [30] 48.43  1.07 36.66  2.63
developed using corn starch. Natural and customized nano-clays were Sweet Potato Starch [29] 42.4  0.00 42.4  0.00
Prosopis juliflora starch (present work) 75.3  0.32 75.2  0.24
added with or without the addition of blueberry extract and the me-
chanical properties were evaluated in Ref. [24]. The results revealed that
the nanocomposites prepared using nano-fillers with a greater degree of inclusion of the blueberry pomace into Cassava starch film for food
interlayer spacing showed higher thermal resistance, Young's modulus, packaging applications. The blueberry pomace would enhance the bar-
but lower strain at break values. Luchese et al. [25] investigated the rier properties against light and prevent food deterioration.

3
M.K. Marichelvam et al. Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 5 (2022) 100296

Fig. 3. (a) FTIR of sample 1 (b) FTIR of sample 2 (c) FTIR of sample 3 (d) FTIR of sample 4 (e) FTIR of sample 5 (f) FTIR of sample 6.

Santana et al. [26] have investigated the performance of bio-plastics opacity and relatively high mechanical stability. Song et al. [27] pro-
using jack fruit starch. Glycerol was the plasticizer. The tensile strength, duced starch films using corn and wheat starch. They addressed the effect
percent elongation, and young's modulus were calculated. The results of essential oil and surfactant on the physical and antimicrobial proper-
revealed that the jack fruit starch could be used to produce films with ties of corn and wheat starch films. The properties of cassava

4
M.K. Marichelvam et al. Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 5 (2022) 100296

Fig. 4. (a) SEM image of sample 1, (b) SEM image of sample 2, (c) SEM image of sample 3, (d) SEM image of sample 4, (e) SEM image of sample 5, (f) SEM image of
sample 6.

5
M.K. Marichelvam et al.
starch-based bioplastics reinforced by nano clay were investigated and
the X-ray diffraction (XRD), tensile test, moisture content test, water
absorption, and biodegradability test were conducted experimentally
[28]. The results revealed that the addition of nano clay would improve
tensile strength. Abdullah et al. [29] have extracted starch from sweet
potatoes. They added glycerol to produce bioplastics and the mechanical
properties were investigated. They reported that the Bioplastics with the
highest sweet potato starch and glycerol ratio showed the best physical,
mechanical, and biodegradability properties. They attained the highest
tensile strength of 2.57 MPa with a density of 1.66 g/cm3. The composite
bioplastics by synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles with corn starch were
proposed for packaging industries [30]. The composite bioplastics were
prepared using starch, vinegar, glycerol, and TiO2 and it was concluded
that the tensile strength of the bioplastics was increased and elongation is
decreased by adding TiO2. Liu et al. [31] developed cassava starch-based
bioplastics by applying a two-step melt-blending extrusion. The ther-
moplastic starch (TPS) was prepared with the addition of Glycerol and
nano-SiO2 with the starch in the first step. The addition of Polybutylene
adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT) in the second step was used to increase
the mechanical properties.
Cassava starch was added with xanthan, gellan, or pullulan gums to
produce cassava starch-based films to reduce moisture absorption and
enhance film strength. The Xanthan gum increased the tensile strength of
the starch films but did not minimize the water absorption capacity and
water vapor permeability. The gellan gum present at 10 and 20% weight
in the blend was obtained with adequate properties which were used for
packaging applications [32]. Suryanto et al. [33] investigated the me-
chanical properties of starch-based biocomposites with nano clay and
carrageenan. They concluded that the addition of nano clay would in-
crease the quality of biocomposites by using XRD, Fourier-transform
infrared (FTIR), Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Thermogra-
vimetric analysis (TGA). Acquah et al. [34] have fabricated the bio-
plastics from yellow pea proteins using the wet processing methods for
packaging applications. They used glycerol as a plasticizer and water as a
solvent and determined the mechanical properties. A low-cost PBAT
based TPS with better mechanical properties was developed using a
two-stage extrusion into PBAT [35]. The incorporation of TPS into PBAT
reduces the cost compared to other materials.
Recently, Liu et al. [36] adopted the film blowing method to produce
TPS using cassava starch, glycerol, and nano-silica (nano-SiO2). They
addressed the effects of glycerol and nano-SiO2 on the mechanical
properties, thermal properties, and structure of TPS films. Rovina et al.
[37] have developed a biodegradable hybrid polymer film that was used
as an environmentally friendly biosensor with a short response time for
the identification of formaldehyde in real seafood products. De Oliveira
et al. [38] developed an eco-friendly antimicrobial active film with corn
starch and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). They have added cellulose nano-
crystals and maleic anhydride (MA) to improve the mechanical proper-
ties. Spiridon et al. [39] prepared biocomposites by blending different
biomass wastes with starch and Ecoflex viz. poly (butylene
adipate-co-terephthalate), without adding glycerol. They also evaluate
the mechanical properties, thermal, and surface properties of the pre-
pared composites and found that the tensile strength and impact strength
was increased by adding the lignin, while a decrease in the water uptake
ability. Recently, Jumaidin et al. [40] fabricated the biopolymer com-
posites by incorporating Cogon Grass fiber into Thermoplastic cassava
starch using compression molding and identified that the incorporation
of CFG has increased the tensile and flexural properties of the TPCS
composites, while there is a reduction in the elongation and impact
strength. The thermal properties of the biocomposites were decreased
due to the increase of cogon grass fibers from 0 to 5%.
From the above literature review, it is evident that no one has dealt
with Prosopis Juliflora starch-based bioplastics. Hence, in the present
work starch is extracted from Prosopis Juliflora. This starch is mixed with
plasticizers and the plastic films are produced. Various tests namely
tensile test, water solubility test, water absorption test, water contact
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Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 5 (2022) 100296
angle test, biodegradability test, and morphological analysis were per-
formed to evaluate the performance of the film.
2. Experimental methods
This section illustrates the experimental techniques carried out in the
present work.
2.1. Materials and methods
The Prosopis juliflora starch (PJS) is extracted in the laboratory on a
pilot scale. The PJS starch contains 10.32% moisture, 0.32% protein,
0.38% fat, 0.22% ash (measured by the standard methods of AACC 2000
[41]) and 29.34% amylose (applied by the method of Morrison and
Laignelet [42]). The Gelatin powder was supplied by Reachem Labora-
tory Chemicals Private Limited, Chennai, India. The Glycerol was
brought from Isochem Laboratories, Kochi, India. Citric acid and distilled
water were procured from Chemimpex International, India. The analyt-
ical grade chemicals were used.
2.1.1. Extraction of starch
The Prosopis juliflora plant located at Poolavurani, Virudhunagar
district, Tamilnadu, India is shown in Fig. 1 (a) and wood was prepared.
The Prosopis juliflora tree wood was converted into sawdust. The sawdust
was stirred with distilled water and heated at 60  C. About 50 g of wood
powder was mixed with 600 ml of distilled water in a 1-L flask. The flask
was kept in the water bath and heated at 60  C with constant stirring
provided by a magnetic stirrer. This process was continued for 3 h until
the water is siphoned off. The above process was repeated 3 to 4 times
until the extract failed to give the tannin reaction with ferrous ammo-
nium sulphate solution. The tannin reaction confirms the presence of
starch in the wood powder. The final extract was allowed to dry to get the
starch [43]. The extraction process is illustrated in Fig. 1 (b) and Fig. 1 (c)
and the extracted starch is shown in Fig. 1 (d).
2.2. Preparation of bioplastics films
The materials used for preparing bioplastic films are gelatin, glycerol,
PJS, citric acid, and distilled water. Glycerol is the solvent or the plas-
ticizer that plasticizes the added starch and other materials to produce
the bioplastics film. Gelatin and citric acid also act as plasticizers. The
composition of materials is varied, and six different samples are pre-
pared. Different composition of materials is presented in Table 1. A total
of ten samples are prepared for each composition. The weight of PJS
remains constant for all the samples. The weights of the gelatin, citric
acid, and glycerol are increased, and 100 g of distilled water is used.
The bioplastic films are produced as per the procedure described in
Ref. [10]. Gelatin, glycerol, PJS, citric acid, and distilled water are mixed
thoroughly using a magnetic stirrer. The mixture was allowed to mix at a
constant speed of 180 rpm for 10 min. After mixing, the solution is
transferred to the hot plate which is maintained at 100  C. Then, the
solution is heated for 10–15 min until a gel-like substance appears. The
gel is removed from the beaker and poured onto the Teflon glass plate
(Fig. 2 (a)) and is spread uniformly to get uniform thickness. The glass
plate is dried for 3–4 days and then the plastic film is separated from the
Teflon glass plate. The bioplastics film produced is shown in Fig. 2 (b).
2.3. Characterization
2.3.1. Tensile test
To determine the amount of load to be carried out by the produced
bioplastics film, the tensile test was carried out (Testometric Machine
M350 10CT). Dumbbell-shaped specimens were prepared from the film
samples as per ASTM D882 standard. A cross-head speed of 5 mm/min
was used while operating the machine. Tensile strength (MPa) was
recorded at the time of the stretching.
M.K. Marichelvam et al.
2.3.2. Thickness measurement
The thickness of the bioplastic film was observed using Micrometer
(Mitutoyo Japan). The thickness was obtained by holding the film in
between the anvil and stylus. For each sample, the thickness was
measured at five different positions and the mean value is calculated.
2.3.3. Water solubility test
This test was taken to know how fast the bioplastic film dissolves in
water. The film was cut into a square section of size 2 cm2. The weight of
the dry film sample was measured and noted accurately. 100 ml of
distilled water was filled in a 250 ml beaker to immerse the film sample
in distilled water. The beaker was kept on a magnetic stirrer and stirred at
180 rpm for 6 h. After 6 h the remaining portion of the film is filtered. The
filtered mass is dried at 110  C in a hot air oven until a fixed dried mass is
obtained. The dried mass was weighed and the readings were noted. The
percentage of the total soluble matter was computed using the following
formula.
Wi  Wf
WS ðin %Þ ¼  100 (1)
Wi
where.
WS - solubility in water
Wi – the initial weight of the bioplastics in g
Wf- final weight of the bioplastics in g
2.3.4. Water contact angle
Water contact angle (WCA) was measured using a goniometer and
used to know the hydrophobicity of the film by examining its wettability.
The sample was placed in the midst of light and the camera at a similar
angle [10]. This permitted the flat baseline to be obtained for the contact
angle measurement. The contact angle changed from 0 to 180 , ac-
cording to the wettability of solid material. The value 0 indicates the
extreme hydrophilic nature of the material and 180 indicates the
extreme hydrophobic nature of the material. The film was cut into a small
piece such that a small drop of about 0.005 ml could be poured on the
piece. The solubility of bioplastics would be better if the WCA is around
60 .
2.3.5. Biodegradability test
This test was performed to determine the biodegradable nature of the
film. Each sample is cut into a square piece of size 2 cm2. The initial
weight of the specimen was observed. The soil that is found near the roots
of the plants was taken as they are rich in bacteria and have some
moisture content. About 500 g of such soil is taken from the root portion
and stored in a container. The samples were buried at a depth of 3 cm for
15 days in the container under room conditions. After 15 days the sam-
ples are taken from the container and the final weight was measured. The
weight loss due to biodegradability is calculated by adopting the
following equation:
Wi  Wf
WLðin %Þ ¼  100 (2)
Wi
where.
WL – a weight loss of bioplastics
Wi – the initial weight of the bioplastics in g
Wf – final weight of the bioplastics in g
2.3.6. Identification of compounds
Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is an analytical
method that used an infrared spectrum of absorption or emission of a
solid, liquid, or gas to identify organic, polymeric, and, inorganic mate-
rials. The sample is kept between the crystal and the infrared emitter.
Different peaks will be obtained for different wavenumbers. The peaks
7
Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 5 (2022) 100296
define the bonding nature of the materials like the O-H bond, C-H bond,
and other bonds obtained.
2.3.7. Morphological analysis
Morphological investigations of the bioplastics film were performed
using the Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) machine model (HITACHI
S-3400 N). A current emission of 58 μA was applied to operate the in-
strument. The acceleration voltage used was 10 kV, and the fixed
working distance was 7.4 mm. The samples were layered by using gold
before performing the SEM analysis.
2.3.8. Statistical analysis
The results in the tables and figures were indicated the mean and
standard deviations obtained for different samples. Analysis of variance
(ANOVA) was used to analyze the statistical differences of results for
different samples. Also, the mean values are determined and compared
by Duncan's multiple range tests at a 5% level of significance.
3. Results and discussions
The results and discussions are presented below.
3.1. Tensile strength of PJS
The tensile strength comparison of different samples is presented in
Table 2. The tensile strength of the PJS film with 2 g of gelatine, 1 g of
citric acid, and 3 g of glycerol is 5.81 MPa (sample 1). When the citric
acid and glycerol content is increased, the tensile strength is getting
reduced. The tensile strength of sample six is 1.9 MPa only because of the
presence of more citric acid and glycerol. The tensile strength of PFS is
compared with Amylomaize starch [44], banana starch [45], Carbox-
ymethyl Starch [46], Cassava Starch [28], Chlorella [47], Corn starch
[14,16,19,30,48], Potato starch [18,20,29,48] and Yam starch [18]. The
best value of the tensile strength in the respective papers is considered for
comparison. Moreover, the mean values of the tensile strength are only
considered for comparison as only these values are available in the
literature papers. The result comparison is presented in Table 3. Amy-
lomaize starch [44] has a tensile strength of 5.47 MPa. The tensile
strength of Carboxymethyl Starch [46] is only 0.65 MPa. From the table,
it is observed that the cassava starch [28] has a tensile strength of 5.20
MPa. Tensile strength of 3.86 MPa was reported when Chlorella is mixed
with polyvinyl alcohol [47]. Corn starch with titanium dioxide provided
a tensile strength of 3.95 MPa [30]. Other samples of corn starch had
lower tensile strength. When the potato starch is mixed with 1% titanium
dioxide, a tensile strength of 3.86 MPa was attained. The remaining
composition of potato starch has shown poor tensile strength. The tensile
strength of PJS is much better than Yam starch. PJS has 6.42% more
tensile strength than Amylomaize starch. The tensile strength of PJS is
nearly 8 times greater than Carboxymethyl Starch [46]. The tensile
strength of PJS is 11.73% better than the Cassava Starch. The tensile
strength of PJS is 47% more than corn starch with titanium dioxide. The
PJS starch has 50% more tensile strength compared to potato starch. The
Yam starch has one-third tensile strength of PJS. From the above results,
it is clear that the PJS has better tensile strength than many other starch
films reported in the literature. The tensile strength is one of the
important basic properties required for packaging materials. The tensile
strength offers resistance to direct pull. Also, the bursting strength of the
packaging materials depends on the tensile strength. Hence, the higher
tensile strength of PJS indicates its suitability for packaging applications.
3.2. Film thickness
The film thickness, water-solubility, water contact angle, and biode-
gradability of different samples are presented in Table 4. From the table,
it is noted that all the bioplastics films have thicknesses greater than 250
μm. The average film thickness is 260  18 μm. This film thickness is
M.K. Marichelvam et al.
more than the standard value of 50 μm and hence this PJS film could be
used in packaging industries. The thickness of the individual film will
also affect the total thickness of the board used for packaging. Further, it
is observed that the composition of the bioplastic does not have a sig-
nificant impact on the thickness of the film.
The film thickness of the PJS film is compared with Cassava starch
[25] and Corn Starch [16,19]. The film thickness comparison of different
samples is presented in Table 5. The film thickness of Cassava starch [25]
is only 50% of PJS starch. However, the Corn Starch [16,19] has better
film thickness. This may be due to the method used for producing the
film.
3.3. Water solubility of PJS
The water solubility of different samples of PJS is shown in Table 4.
From the table, it is evident that sample 6 has better water solubility
(82.6  0.14%) than other samples. This is due to the inclusion of more
percentages of glycerol and gelatin. The water solubility of the PJS film is
much better than the Corn starch and corn starch þ TiO2 [30]. Corn
starch has a water solubility of 28.08  1.02 and Corn starch þ TiO2 has
a water solubility of 27.55  0.81%. The better water solubility of PJS
films indicates its suitability in various packaging applications such as
packaging of colorants, soaps, and shampoos. Also, films with better
solubility may be used for the manufacture of disposal bags, laundry
bags, and shopping bags.
3.4. Water contact angle of PJS
The water contact angles of different samples are presented in
Table 4. It is observed from the table that the prepared PJS film samples
have better water contact angles. As all the samples have more than 60 ,
the water solubility is increased. The water contact angle comparison of
different starch films is shown in Table 6. From the table, it is concluded
that the PJS films have better water contact angles than Corn starch [30],
Corn starch þ TiO2 [30], and Sweet Potato Starch [29]. The better water
contact angles of the PJS film indicate that the PJS film can be used for
the manufacturing of water-soluble packaging materials which would be
a sustainable packaging material. The hydrophilic nature of the PJS film
indicates that it would be more suitable for food packaging as it has
better resistance to bacterial adhesion.
3.5. Biodegradability of PJS
The biodegradability values of different samples are given in Table 3.
Among the different samples, the sixth sample has the highest biode-
gradability value (70.3%) and the first sample has the lowest biode-
gradability (53.3%). The biodegradability of samples is increased with
the increase in the weight of gelatin, citric acid, and glycerol. The better
biodegradability values of the PJS film reveal that the PJS film would be
suitable for packaging applications and can be easily disposed of. This
will also reduce a significant percentage of municipal waste.
3.6. FTIR results
The FTIR results of different samples are shown below (Fig. 3(a)-3(f)).
FTIR spectra of classical peaks of the first sample are presented in
Fig. 3(a). From the figure, it is evident that the wavenumber 3550.52 cm-
1 Springer, Cham, 2018, pp. 125–147.
shows the stretching mode of hydroxyl groups due to water and car-
bohydrates, 1086.67 cm-1 related to O-H bonding due to primary and
secondary alcohol, (1352.18 cm-1- 894.58 cm-1) shows that glycosidic
bond in starch molecules related to C-O bond stretching.
3.7. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
SEM was used to characterize the micromorphology of the PJS films.
The SEM images of the surfaces and cross-sections of PJS film samples are
8
Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry 5 (2022) 100296
shown below (Fig. 4(a)-4(f)). Sample 1 which has less amount glycerol,
citric acid, and gelatin shows poor surface integrity. It has a greater
number of flaws, coarse granules, and irregularities. Many starch gran-
ules were observed due to the presence of less concentration of plasti-
cizers. When, the weight percentage of glycerol, citric acid, and gelatin is
increased, the fusing of starch occurred and a homogeneous phase is
obtained as shown in Fig. 4(f). Hence, sample 6 has comparatively better
surface integrity and uniform appearance. The other samples namely
samples 2, 3, 4, and 5 have a moderate amount of plasticizers and hence a
medium level of surface integrity.
4. Conclusions
The growth of Prosopis juliflora would affect biodiversity and reduce
the groundwater level. In this work, starch is extracted from the Prosopis
juliflora and mixed with glycerol, citric acid, gelatin, and distilled water
at different ratios to produce the bioplastics films. Various tests are
conducted to evaluate the properties of PJS films. The tensile strength of
PJS film is found to be 5.81 MPa which is much better than many other
starch-based films addressed in the literature. The statistical results
reveal that the film thickness, water-solubility, water contact angle, and
biodegradability properties of PJS are also impressive. The average
thickness of the PJS film is 260 μm. Hence, it is inferred that the PJS film
could be used for packaging applications. It would be an interesting
future scope of this work is to investigate the biodegradability of the PJS
films under different environmental conditions. Further analysis may be
performed to analyze the impact of other plasticizers on the mechanical
properties of PJS films. Identification of effective fabrication techniques
is another future scope of this work.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
This research was funded by King Mongkut's University of Technol-
ogy North Bangkok with Contract no. KMUTNB-65-KNOW-06.
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