Physical and Environmental Properties of Thermoplastics Corn Starch (TPCS) Reinforced Pineapple Leaf Fibre (PALF) Composite 
H. Z. Nazri1, Z. Ngali2, M.Z. Selamat3, M. A. Shaharuzaman4, A. Md. Saad5
1Nazri Huzaimi bin Zakaria*, Fakulti Teknologi Kejuruteraan Mekanikal dan Pembuatan, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia.
2Mohd Zamani bin Ngali, Fakulti Kejuruteraan Mekanikal dan Pembuatan, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, 86400, Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia.
3Mohd Zulkefli bin Selamat, Fakulti Kejuruteraan Mekanikal, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia.
4Mohd Adrinata bin Shaharuzaman, Fakulti Kejuruteraan Mekanikal, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia.
5Adzni bin Md. Saad, Fakulti Kejuruteraan Mekanikal, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Hang Tuah Jaya, 76100 Durian Tunggal, Melaka, Malaysia.
Manuscript received on May 29, 2020. | Revised Manuscript received on June 22, 2020. | Manuscript published on June 30, 2020. | PP: 618-623 | Volume-9 Issue-5, June 2020. | Retrieval Number: D8987049420/2020©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijeat.D8987.069520
Open Access | Ethics and Policies | Cite | Mendeley
© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: The purpose of this research is to study the physical and environmental properties of thermoplastic corn starch (TPCS) reinforced with 2 mm length of pineapple leaf fibre (PALF) bio-composites. Weight percentages of PALF ranging from 20 wt.% to 60 wt.% were used in this investigation. Hot compression moulding technique was used to produce samples of TPCS with different wt.% of PALF at the temperature of 165 °C for the duration of 15 minutes. The physical tests that had been performed were density, moisture content, moisture absorption and water absorption while the environmental tests were water solubility and soil burial testing. The moisture content results showed a decreasing trend by increasing the PALF content. However, moisture absorption and water absorption revealed an increased yield with the increase in PALF content. Meanwhile, density results did not show much change even when the fibre content was raised up to 60 wt.%. In addition, the water solubility results showed an increasing trend as the fibre was increased from 20 wt.% to 60 wt.%. On the other hand, soil burial results revealed vice versa whereby an increasing fibre content caused the weight loss of bio-composites to gradually decrease from 20 wt.% of fibre loading to the maximum of fibre loading. In conclusion, the physical and environmental properties of TPCS/PALF bio-composites obtained from this study can be used to develop biodegradable products such as containers or disposable trays.
Keywords: Bio-composites, thermoplastic corn starch, pineapple leaf fibre.