Starch based Active Packaging Film Reinforced with Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) Cellulose Nanofiber

Published Date
2014, Vol.9:23–33, doi:10.1016/j.proche.2014.05.004
International Conference and Workshop on Chemical Engineering UNPAR 2013 (ICCE UNPAR 2013)
Open Access, Creative Commons license

Author 

• Mohd Harfiz Salehudin ^,
 
• Eraricar Salleh
 
• Siti Nur Hana Mamat
 
• Ida Idayu Muhamad Assoc. Prof

• Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor Malaysia

Available online 1 August 2014.

Abstract

Biopolymer active packaging is known to have low mechanical strength and highly brittle. Regardless to its disadvantage, polymers from natural sources have attracted serious attention since the non-renewable sources for example petroleum, the major precursor of plastic manufacturing become depleted. Starch-Chitosan for instance is a hybrid film that entirely green as it produced from a renewable material and totally degradable. The addition of chitosan in film packaging able to kill pathogen hence increases the food shelf life. Through nanotechnology advance, nanomaterial can be used for material reinforcement. Nowadays, greener approach could be applied by incorporating natural cellulose nanofiber into the film matrix. Oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) fiber that rich of cellulose contents could be treated chemically to purify the cellulose in the fiber. Cellulose fiber obtained was cut to a nano-size using acid hydrolysis. Transmission Electron Microscopy (T.E.M) obtained shown the nanofiber size was ranged between 1-100 nm in diameter. Nanocomposite film formulation, was constructed by varying the cellulose nanofiber incorporation between 2-10% per weight of starch. The strength of the films was measured as well as antimicrobial properties. The addition of 2% cellulose nanofiber into the film matrix exhibits high tensile strength with 5.25 Mpa compared to starch-chitosan hybrid film with 3.96 Mpa. However, no significant improvement in tensile strength was distinguished beyond that ratio. Antimicrobial analysis shows that the addition of cellulose nanofiber could increase the inhibition effect towards gram-positive bacteria but not towards gram-negative bacteria. The addition of 2% cellulose nanofiber increased the inhibition diameter towards gram positive bacteria, Bacillus subtilis up to 33%. However, inhibition towards Bacillus subtilis decreased with the incorporation of more cellulose nanofiber. In gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli, the addition of cellulose nanofiber does not give significant effect to bacterial. In General, the addition of the unique structure of cellulose nanofiber in the starch based polymer system could enhance the mechanical strength of the film and increase the inhibition of the gram positive bacteria.

Keywords

Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch (OPEFB)

Cellulose Nanofiber

Starch

Chitosan

Antimicrobial

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• ☆
  Peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of ICCE UNPAR 2013.

• ⁎ 
  Corresponding author. Tel.: +06-07-5535543; fax: +06-07-5536163.

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