Research Title:

Production of Biodegradable Plastic Cups Made from Sugarcane Tops as an Alternative to

Disposable Cups

Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature and Studies

In this chapter, the researchers will present and discuss the literature and studies related

to the research being conducted. Included in this chapter are literature and studies related to the

production of biodegradable plastic cups made from sugarcane tops as an alternative to the usual

disposable plastic cups.

Sugarcane Tops

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) is a major crop in many parts of the world, and

sugarcane tops are one of its byproducts. Sugarcane tops include the cane's growth tip, a few

upper nodes, and associated leaves. The tops and dry leaves are burned off on large farms before

the cane is processed for disposal, whereas the tops are clipped for livestock feed on small farms.

Sugarcane tops account for 15 to 25% of the plant's aerial portion. Green leaves, bundle sheaths,

and varying proportions of young cane make up most of them. In every sugarcane research, they

always use sugarcane bagasse and toss the top. Each tonne of stalk is anticipated to yield roughly

140 kg of dry cane garbage (Bizzo et al., 2014). Sugarcane contains a lot of fiber. Other elements

that influence the increase of composite qualities include geometry, such as shape, size, and

distribution of reinforcement (Mahesha et al., 2019; Vidyashri et al., 2019; Yashas Gowda et al.,
2018). The alignment of the fibers is another element that influences the properties of

composites, resulting in the best tensile, flexural, and impact capabilities (Balasundar et al.,

2019; Dinesh et al., 2020; Mahesha et al., 2017; Pickering & Le, 2016). Spraying, lay-up, resin

transfer molding, compression molding, pressing, and stir casting are all techniques that can be

used to process composite materials. Natural fiber-based raw materials are used as reinforcing to

create lightweight materials with acceptable specified mechanical characteristics (Thangaraju &

Kannan, 2016; Vidyashri et al., 2019; Xiong, 2018).

Biodegradable Plastics

The large accumulation of plastics within the surroundings continues to pose a threat to

the sustainability of our planet (Jambeck et al., 2015; UN Environment, 2018). Studies have

discovered that selecting biodegradable products has a potential in dealing with plastic pollution

(Klein et al., 2019). Biodegradable plastics are plastics that disintegrate when exposed to the

presence of microorganisms, are viewed as a sustainable choice to non-biodegradable traditional

plastics and are being promoted as an eco-friendlier desire for consumers. Biodegradable plastics

are generally made from natural byproducts of renewable resources. Biodegradable plastics are

decomposed by 4 stages: biodeterioration, depolymerization, assimilation, and mineralization

(Harrison et al., 2018). The kind of environment determines the biodegradation stage of

biodegradable plastics, which is one of the gaps discovered in research conducted. However,

according to Myung et al. (2021), bridging the gaps in biodegradable plastics will open up a

sustainable future.
Single-use Plastic Cups

As per the European Commision and the United Nations Environment Programme’s

(UNEP) definition, single-use plastics (SUPs), also known as disposable plastics, are plastic

packaging that is thrown away after one use. Plastic made from polymers of high-density

polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET),

polystyrene (PS), polypropylene (PP) or expanded polystyrene (EPS) is considered single-use

plastic. The most common plastic cups used in coffee shops and milk tea shops are PP and PET

plastic cups. PP plastic cups are made of polypropylene, a strong thermoplastic polymer that

takes 20 years to completely decompose. PET plastic cups are made of polyethylene

terephthalate (PET) polymer that takes approximately 450 years to fully break down. These

plastic cups are considered non-biodegradable and have accumulated in the environment year by

year. To combat this problem, researchers have found an alternative to this plastic. Polylactic

acid (PLA) is a bio-based polyester made from renewable sources such as corn starch and

sugarcane. However, according to the European Commission (2019), it is still debatable whether

the use of PLA can mitigate environmental challenges caused by single-use plastics.