Biobased Plastics

Research question : find the best additives that would increase the strength of biobased plastics made from starch.

Introduction

Biobased plastics are plastics made from renewable resources rather than the traditional petroleum resources many such plastics are biodegradable and hence are very economical and useful.

Through my EE I plan to explore plastics made from starch and the additives that can be added to this plastic to enhance its properties such as strength and durability.This topic has led me to my research question, which is ' what are the best additives, that would increase the strength of biobased plastics ' These biobased plastics, as compared to petroleum based plastics would be biodegradable and hence a better alternative for

Plastics are made from a raw material called naphtha which contains a mixture of hydrocarbons. This naphtha undergoes a process called cracking to form olefins or alkenes, namely propylene and ethylene, which are monomers that would ultimately bond to form polymers, that would later be transformed to plastics. Once these monomers are formed, they undergo chemical processes to bond together to form polymers, which contain long chains of the hydrocarbon. This is done by two methods namely polymerisation and polycondensation, the difference between the two being that first methods involves combination of monomers with the same functional group and the second involves combination of monomers that contain different functional groups which combine to form a polymer and also give out water as a byproduct. Once these polymers are formed, they are transformed into plastics by a number of methods. Plastics can be basically divided into two types - thermoplastics and thermosetting plastics. Thermoplastics are plastics that do not change their chemical composition and hence can revert to their original composition when subjected to certain external factors such as heat, acid content etc. thermosetting plastics are plastics that cannot revert to their

2) Add 6 cm3 of NaOH to neutralise the solution and increase the Ph level.

3) Leave the mixture to dry out for 2 days at room temperature.

With sorbitol

1) Add 50 cm3 of water, 5.0 g of corn starch, 6 cm3 HCl and 4 cm3 of Sorbitol ( (2S,3R,4R,5R)- Hexane-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexol ) to a beaker and heat on a hot plate until just before boiling, while continuously stirring with a spatula.

2) Add 6 cm3 of NaOH to neutralise the solution and increase the Ph level. 3) Leave the mixture to dry out for 2 day at room temperature.

With Carboxymethyl cellulose

1) Add 50 cm3 of water, 5.0 g of corn starch, 6 cm3 HCl and 4 cm3 of Carboxymethyl cellulose to a beaker and heat on a hot plate until just before boiling, while continuously stirring with a spatula.

2) Add 6 cm3 of NaOH to neutralise the solution and increase the Ph level. 3) Leave the mixture to dry out for 2 day at room