Karakterisasi Polimer Campuran Gelatin, Agar, dan Ulvan sebagai Bioplastik.

Abstract

Plastik merupakan kelompok material luas berbahan dasar polimer dengan karakteristik yang diminati. Namun, sebagian plastik yang dipakai berasal dari plastik sintetis dari bahan bakar fosil sehingga berdampak kepada kerusakan lingkungan. Bioplastik merupakan plastik berbahan dasar biologis mudah terurai. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk menentukan karakteristik formulasi bioplastik berbasis ulvan, gelatin, dan agar dengan penambahan gliserol sebagai plastisiser. Bioplastik dibuat berdasarkan dua kategori, yaitu polimer tunggal (gelatin, agar, dan ulvan) dan polimer campuran (gelatin-agar dan gelatin-ulvan). Karakterisasi bioplastik dilakukan dengan pengamatan aspek visual, ketebalan, uji mekanik, analisis morfologi, uji antioksidan, uji gugus fungsi, uji pengembangan, dan uji sudut kontak. Hasil menunjukkan bahwa bioplastik gelatin memiliki elastisitas tinggi tetapi kekuatan tarik rendah, agar memiliki kekuatan tinggi namun rapuh, sementara ulvan memberikan aktivitas antioksidan terbaik namun mudah menyerap air. Kombinasi polimer mampu memperbaiki kelemahan dari masing-masing bioplastik tunggal dan menghasilkan film bioplastik dengan kualitas yang lebih baik secara keseluruhan.

Plastics are a broad group of materials made from polymers with desirable characteristics. However, many commonly used plastics are synthetic and derived from fossil fuels, making them harmful to the environment. Bioplastics, on the other hand, are plastics made from biologically-based, biodegradable materials. This study was conducted to determine the characteristics of bioplastic formulations based on ulvan, gelatin, and agar, with glycerol added as a plasticizer. Bioplastics were prepared in two categories: single polymers (gelatin, agar, and ulvan) and blended polymers (gelatin-agar and gelatin-ulvan. The bioplastics were characterized through visual observation, thickness measurement, mechanical testing, morphological analysis, antioxidant activity, functional group analysis, swelling test, and contact angle test. The results showed that gelatin-based bioplastics had high elasticity but low tensile strength, agar-based bioplastics had high strength but were brittle, while ulvan provided the best antioxidant activity but absorbed water easily. Polymer combinations improved the weaknesses of the individual bioplastics and produced bioplastic films with overall better quality.