| dc.description.abstract | Recently, the production of natural biodegradable polymer composites using
renewable sources has become an important research area. These biopolymer
composites possess enhanced properties than biopolymers. In this study, a
biopolymer composite was prepared using Cassava starch and cellulose that was
extracted from Panicum maximum. During the study, polymers were prepared using
the solution casting technique with a glycerol plasticizer. Starch polymers were
prepared by mixing starch and glycerol in 1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, and 5:1 ratio
respectively. Starch-cellulose bio composites were prepared by mixing cellulose and
starch in different ratios. During the preparation of biopolymer composites, glycerol
and acetic acid amounts were kept constant. The biodegradability, water solubility,
water absorption capacity, and mechanical properties of those polymer films were
determined. Furthermore, the polymer films were characterized using a scanning
electron microscope and infrared spectroscopy in order to investigate the surface
morphology and the chemical modifications of polymer films respectively. The
tensile strength of the starch polymers increases when increasing the starch
content. The water solubility and biodegradability of films were decreased when
increasing the starch content. The addition of cellulose increases the tensile strength
due to the strong interaction between the starch and cellulose. In starch-cellulose
composites, biodegradability has been decreased when increasing the cellulose
content. Hence, in starch polymers, better properties can be obtained when
increasing the starch content. Whereas in starch-cellulose composites better
properties have been obtained with higher cellulose content. Furthermore,
properties can be improved by the modification of starch using citric acid. | en_US |
