Characterization and Biodegradation of Polyblend (Styrofoam-Starch) with Polylactid acid (PLA) as Biocompatizer.

Abstract

Styrofoam is a kind of polystyrene which can not be naturally decomposed. The increasing amount of using styrofoam causes environment pollution. In facing this problem, modification of recyclable styrofoam is needed to produce degradable plastic. Starch can be a solution because it is a polymer that can be biologically decomposed. The mixture of starch to the styrofoam composite creates biodegradable plastic. Unfortunately, various polarity of styrofoam and starch is difficult to mixed homogenously, so we need polylactic acid (PLA) as the biocompatizer. Styrofoam and starch of four different concentrations of PLA, 5, 10, 15, and 20%. Film with the highest homogeneity was given by 80:20 concentration of styrofoam and starch combination with 20 % of PLA addition. The more PLA, the more homogenous of film we got. Film with the highest homogeneity produced substantial weight reduction which about 10%. The film that has been produced was amorphous since it had wide melting point, 155 °C to 185 °C. Infrared spectrum film showed the existence of C-O ester on 1184 cm-1 region. Ester functional group indicated that the film could be biodegraded. The infrared spectrum of the film did not show new functional groups, so we concluded that the film was a product of physical mixture between styrofoam and starch.