Biodegradable foam production process based on extracted cellulose of empty palm oil fruit bunch and chitosan for food packaging.

The need for food packaging increases along with population and economic growth in Indonesia. Styrofoam is one of the food packaging that humans need because it is practical, lightweight, inexpensive, water-resistant, and has good heat and cold resistance. However, styrofoam negatively impacts health and the environment because styrofoam contains harmful chemicals such as styrene. Styrofoam destruction through burning can cause air pollution because the combustion results in dioxin gas which can interfere with human respiration. One of the solutions to reduce the negative impact of Styrofoam is the utilization of biomass as a raw ingredient used in the production of biodegradable foam. In 2019, palm oil production in Indonesia reached 48.42 million tons/year, 26% of which were empty palm oil fruit bunches (EFB). The cellulose content in EFB is high enough to be used for various applications. One of the applications of EFB is the raw material in producing biodegradable foam, an alternative to eco-friendly packaging to replace Styrofoam. Oil palm empty fruit bunches contain 84% -cellulose. This shows that the cellulose of EFB has excellent potential as one of the raw materials for producing biodegradable foam. In addition to EFB, the raw materials include starch, chitosan, magnesium stearate, polyvinyl alcohol, and distilled water. Production of biodegradable foam with a size of 19 cm x 13 cm x 0.3 cm requires 1.5-6 grams of cellulose or 11-44 grams of fresh EFB. Currently, biodegradable foam still has bad characteristics, so it is necessary to add additives to enhance the properties of biodegradable foam. This study examines the effects of chitosan on tensile strength, water absorption, biodegradability, density, and melting point of biodegradable foam. The production of biodegradable foam in this study used the thermopressing method at operating conditions of 120°C for 2.5 minutes. The most optimum results in this study obtained a tensile strength value of 3.79 MPa, water absorption capacity of 9.81%, decomposition capacity of 48.52% for 21 days, and a melting point of 82.94°C, namely the starch composition of 50 % w/w, chitosan 15% w/w, cellulose 5% w/w, PVA 20% w/w and magnesium stearate 10% w/w. This study revealed that adding chitosan increased the density, tensile strength, and melting point but decreased the absorption and decomposition of biodegradable foam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]