Desarrollo de un plástico biodegradable a base de harina de cáscara de toronja amarilla (Citrus x paradisi Macfad) y almidón de maíz (Zea mays L.).

Abstract

Plastics and their derivatives are highly useful products, as evidenced by their use in medicine, technology and the comfort they provide in many daily activities. The problem is what it is for and how it is disposed of after use, which is the case with plastic from supermarkets. This work seeks to develop an ecofriendly biodegradable plastic through the use of innovative materials such as grapefruit peel in order to reduce the environmental impact that plastic bags are currently causing. In the first part of the project, the problem statement is presented, the problem to be investigated and the key questions that allow establishing the research objectives to solve the environmental problems that are addressed, determined the argumentation of the project will be raised based on the analysis published there. The objective of this work will be to develop a biodegradable plastic based on grapefruit peel flour and corn starch as an alternative to the use of plastic, in order to evaluate the flexural strength and degradation time. The data will be evaluated with the analysis of variance; as independent variables, factor A (grapefruit peel) and factor B (corn starch) (from 1.5 to 6.00%) and a control (100% mass of biodegradable plastic) with a methodology based on the authors Artega, Sierra and Cole. A completely randomized design (DCA) with 8 treatments and 3 repetitions with a total of 24 samples will be used. For the selection of the formulation, the best results of the mechanical properties and biodegradability will be considered. The cost/benefit analysis will demonstrate the feasibility of the project.