| dc.description.abstract | This report contains the results that were obtained after production of a sample of biodegradable plastic sample as an alternative raw material in the production of plastic and also after carrying out tests on it. The main objectives of the experiment were to produce a raw material which was used to evaluate the physical and chemical parameters of the bioplastic obtained. Experiments
for example, the moisture absorption test, the biodegradability test and the elongation test were carried out. After sample preparation, a moisture absorption test was carried out on the plastic obtained with weight analysis using three pieces. The pieces were weighed obtained plastic before exposure to the outer environment where they were anticipated to absorb moisture from and the percentage change in weight analyzed. After experimental proceedings, the results obtained showed that the
moisture absorption of the plastic is insignificant or negligible which means that our plastic sample does not absorb water from the environment and hence safe for use. A biodegradability test was also carried out on the obtained bio plastic with an aim of finding out whether the piece of plastic obtained is biodegradable in nature i.e. A soil burial test was used because it provided a more realistic environment and it involved burying of the sample in soil. There was a loss in the weight of the sample after weighing at the regular intervals. In observation, the degradation of the biodegradable plastic increased as the number of days increased.
An elongation test was carried out on the sample of plastic whose initial length was obtained as 5.2 cm and after stretching, its final length became 5.9 cm. Hence that is the maximum elongation that the obtained bio plastic can bare is 0.4 cm and that was due to the sample’s small thickness. According to the results obtained from the study, banana peels can be used as an alternative raw material in the production of biodegradable plastics due to some of its properties that have been confirmed in the experiments carried out. | en_US |
