Utilization of Sweet Plantain Banana (Musa Acuminata) Peels

for Bioplastic Production.

Group Name: Group 6

Group Leader: Icamina, Erron N.
Group Members:

Ignacio, Krizelle V. Maglasang, Shalleah G.

Pautan, Benice Faith Severino, John Paulo S.
Tenorio, Axelle MJ Navales, David Bryan
Cinco, Angelica

Review of Related Literature and Studies

According to Recycle Coach (2021), as of September 2021, there are 8.6
billion tons of plastics worldwide and 6.3 billion tons of it are just wastes. In
United States, the Americans' generated number of plastics are 35.7 million
tons. Currently, there are 120 million tons of plastics are there in the Earth's
ocean and 7-13 million tons of it end up here yearly (Copernicus, n.d.). Here
in the Philippines, environment undersecretary Benny Antiporda said that
there are 9,333 tons of solid wastes collected in National Capital Region
(NCR) in year 2019. But in 2021, it turns 11,953 tons a day (Lopez, 2021). In
addition, the Philippines tallied 0.28 to 0.75 million tons of plastics in ocean
that came from coastal areas in Manila Bay (SEA Circular, n.d.). As years pass
by, plastic pollution continues to affect the society. In the year 2040, the
societal cost of plastic produced could reached $7.1 trillion unless an action is
applied. (WWF, 2019).
An urgent action should have been taken for the escalating problem of
plastic wastes. One of it is replacing biodegradable materials for non-
biodegradable ones in the production of plastics, similarly to bioplastics.
These bioplastics were made from renewable resources such as vegetable
oils and starch, making them biodegradable in comparison to normal plastics
(Ashter, 2016). Actually, starch is widely available, renewable, inexpensive,
and biodegradable. Due to these factors, starch is frequently used in the
production of bioplastics. Starch is made up of a long chain of glucose
molecules. Its granular structure comes from the joining of two glucose units,
branching polymerized amylopectin and amylose (Sultan & Johari, 2017).
Aside from being a biodegradable product, it is also budget-friendly, as it is
made from renewal materials that are not really purchasable on the market.
One of the ongoing research projects for reducing plastic waste problem
is banana peel derived bioplastics. Bioplastics are made from renewable
resources such as oils and starch. Banana peels contain a lot of starch,
roughly 18.5% (Sultan & Johari, 2017), which makes them a good bioplastics
material. Moreover, banana peels are affordable and widely available. In fact,
150 million tons of bananas are collected each year, and bananas are grown
in 150 countries (BananaLink, n.d.). In 2017, the Philippines exported 2.85
million metric tons of bananas and harvested 9.36 million metric tons of
bananas in 2018 (Promusa, n.d.).
Bananas are one of the most widely produced fruits in the world, with
over 122 countries producing them. Bananas have a short shelf life and begin
to deteriorate as soon as they are picked. The fruit's flesh is the most
extensively used component, whereas the outer skin is only used for animal
feed and organic fertilizer. Plantains and unripe bananas are cooked as
vegetables, chips, snacks, powder, and other products, whilst mature dessert
bananas are consumed raw. Banana peel has recently been used in a variety
of industrial processes, including biofuel production, biosorbents, pulp and
paper, cosmetics, energy-related activities, organic fertilizer, environmental
cleanup, and biotechnology processes (Prashanthi et al., 2020).
Plastic comes in a variety of shapes, including sheets, panels, and film,
all of which can be flexible depending on the purpose. Using too many
plastics, on the other hand, has disastrous consequences. It takes a long time
to disintegrate, estimated to be around 500 years, and once decomposed, it
becomes hazardous. The goal of this research is to make biodegradable
plastic from banana peels as a replacement for conventional plastic and to
show that the starch in the banana peel can be used to make biodegradable
plastic. By comparing the biodegradable film to a control film and a synthetic
plastic, the elongation test was used to measure the film's strength. The
intensity of degradation was examined for all three types of film in the soil
burial degradation test, and the biodegradable film decomposed at a faster
rate than the control film, while the synthetic plastic did not degrade at all
(Chandarana et al., 2021).
It is a very diffuse waste in the agricultural and food waste, such as
banana peels, for the manufacture of a bio composite material suitable for the
production such as (bioplastic), it is particularly a collection of bijouterie
items. This form of self-production, known as do-it-yourself (DIY) bioplastics,
began as an educational opportunity for those practitioners that do the
experimental method in a sort of "advanced craftsmanship." (Galentsios et al.,
2017). Moreover, using’ banana peels for bioplastic production helps to
reduce the increase of waste management.
Considering that banana peels contain starch, they can be utilized as a raw
material for biodegradable plastic. The hue and browning of starch obtained
from banana peels would be quick. The addition of citric acid to the starch
extraction procedure from banana peels avoided browning. FPKP was
manufactured with banana peel starch (pati kulit pisang PKP) as the raw
material, with glycerol as a plasticizer and both CaCO3 and CMC as fillers,
whereas PKP was prepared using simple extraction procedures with or
without citric acid. The concentration of glycerol was changed from 20% to
60% by weight, while CaCO3 and CMC were added at a constant proportion
(Yusoff, 2016). The addition of citric acid alters the color of a PKP generated.
Also, the effects of it apply vice versa.
It's significant because it advances the properties of biodegradable
plastic made from banana peels. This research proved that this
biodegradable plastic made from banana peels performs well in terms of
mechanical and physical qualities. Due to its robustness and remarkable
degradability, it has been discovered that an 80 percent concentration of
banana peel is the optimal concentration. These findings were deemed
successful because the plastics were able to demonstrate significant
properties that would aid in the "going green" policy initiative. (Muhamad et
al., 2019).
Plastic is an inextricable part of human life. Almost everything in our
environment is comprised of plastic. Plastics are often non-biodegradable,
resulting in environmental issues due to the rising volume of plastic trash.
Existing plastic garbage can be recycled as one solution. But the use of plastic
materials is very limited due to its expensiveness. Bioplastics or
biodegradable plastics are another option. Because it is biodegradable or
readily destroyed by microbes, this plastic is more environmentally friendly.
Bioplastics can be created primarily from vegetable starches, such as banana
peels, and garbage as a basic material (Rusdi et al., 2020).
There are varieties of bioplastic that were made, and solubility tests were
performed to see how long they will survive. materials. Bioplastic from
banana peels was soaked in sodium meta bisulfite solution, and samples of
bioplastic from banana peels were soaked in sodium meta bisulfite solution.
The bioplastic made from banana peels obtained through a direct squeezing
procedure was considered. All of the samples were chopped into little pieces
and placed in a test tube with various solvents. The thickness of the bioplastic
has been reduced. The bioplastic made from banana peels took on a black
hue. When the bioplastic made from potato starch became a little softer, as
well as the color of the bioplastic changing from green to a pale white.
(Jayachandra et al., 2016).
The development of bioplastics as a replacement for traditional plastics will
undoubtedly beneficial to the earth. On the other hand, it will also have a
negative impact. According to Cho (2017), bioplastics' biodegradability
necessitates the use of high-temperature composting facilities. Because there
are just a few facilities that can handle it, bioplastics may end up in landfills.
It may also emit methane, which has 23 times the potency of carbon dioxide.
In addition, bioplastics are not totally stable and durable compared to
petroleum-based plastics (Alankar, 2020). In terms of production cost,
bioplastics are two to three times more expensive than oil-based plastics,
indicating that they are cost-competitive. In fact, bioplastics range in price
from $2,000 to $7,000 per ton, depending on the type of bioplastic employed
(Chang, n.d.). Lastly, because bioplastic requires raw materials, it could lead
to a shortage of natural or renewable resources (Quality Inspection, 2020).