Booth Id:
MATS038T
Category:
Materials Science
Year:
2018
Finalist Names:
Arafa, Mohammad (School: 6 of October STEM Egypt School)
Zaki, Jassin (School: 6 of October STEM Egypt School)
Abstract:
The process of refining petroleum to create plastics releases harmful chemicals including furans and dioxins into the atmosphere. Thus, the solution proposed in the work involves improving the current procedures of producing biodegradable-plastic from banana peels, to replace petroleum-based plastic. The goal was to produce a sample with thermal and mechanical properties similar to plastics currently used in the food industry, specifically PET [polyethylene terephthalate], with fewer carbon dioxide emissions, an ample shelf-life of two months, and the ability to biodegrade.
The samples were prepared using different sources of starch, glycerin as a plasticizer, and sodium metabisulfite as a preservative. Samples for different forms of starch sources preserved in different ways were made and tested mechanically, thermally, and for their shelf life and biodegradability.
In comparison to the control PET samples, the successfully formed samples showed heat deflection temperatures very similar to PET. The compressive strength of samples that did not flex or rupture, otherwise rigid plastics with less than 8% glycerin by volume, showed tensile yield strength between 56% and 75% of that of PET. Samples preserved with sodium metabisulfite maintained a shelf life of over 61+ days while maintaining their structure, as well as fulfilling the EU definition of a biodegradable plastic.
In conclusion, the results showed satisfactory thermal properties for successful plastic samples, with slightly lower tensile yield strength than was originally determined. Overall, the plastic shows promising results. In the future, infusing a clay filler may be a more economical solution.