Mechanical Characteristics of Bio Thermoplastic Composite Pellets Made from Modified Cassava Starch, Glucomannan and Polylactic Acid in Bio Filler Variations

Abstract

The development of composite pellets based on modified cassava starch (MS), glucomannan (GM) and polylactic acid (PLA) has been carried out, but the quality has not all met SNI 7818-2014 so that its characteristics need to be improved using biofillers. The purpose of this study was to determine the type and concentration of the right biofiller in making biothermoplastic composite pellets MS/GM/PLA. This study used a Completely Randomized Design with treatment without biofiller, using 2.5 and 5% microfibril cellulose (MFC), 2.5 and 5% nanofibril cellulose (NFC), 2.5 and 5% nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) which was repeated 4 times. The observed variables were tensile strength, elongation at break, Young modulus. The results showed that biothermoplastic composite pellets MS/GM/PLA using 2.5% NCC produced the best characteristics with a tensile strength value of 35.33 MPa, elongation at break of 3.36% and Young's modulus of 3.03 GPa. These results meet SNI 7818-2014 so that they have the potential for the development of eco-friendly packaging.