Emmanouil Stefanos Kyrinas
1st Model High School Thessaloniki Student
Keywords: Plastic pollution, Bioplastic, Starch, Sustainability, Alternative.
Introduction
Plastic pollution is one of the most critical environmental challenges of the 21st century. Conventional plastics which are derived from petroleum might be durable and widely used but their resistance to decomposition leads to long-term environmental damage. Millions of tons of plastics are thrown in landfills and oceans every year, with microplastics infiltrating ecosystems, harming wildlife and affecting human health. These issues highlight the urgency for a sustainable alternative to common plastic.
Bioplastics are plastic-like materials made from biodegradable natural materials. In this research, bioplastics made from starch are investigated. These bioplastics are biodegradable and easy to produce, while they have similar properties to basic plastic. Starch derived from potatoes, corn and other sources is a polymer. When combined with plasticizers such as glycerol, and heated, it undergoes gelatinization and forms a polymer material similar to plastic in physical properties.
The theoretical background of this process is as follows: Starch is a natural polymer composed of two main polysaccharides, amylose (with linear chains) and amylopectin (with branched chains). When heated in the presence of water, starch absorbs moisture and undergoes the gelatinization process, where hydrogen bonds break allowing the chains to move freely. During this process, the plasticizer is added which inserts between these chains increasing flexibility. During the heating, excess water evaporates and the mix solidifies into a plastic material after it cools down.
