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LIPI develops organic pellets made of cassava starch
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) researchers have since 2017 been developing cassava starch as a biodegradable material in the hope that it could replace conventional nondegradable plastics
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span>Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) researchers have since 2017 been developing cassava starch as a biodegradable material in the hope that it could replace conventional nondegradable plastics.
Most plastic used for food is disposable. It is often used just once and then disposed, according to researcher Akbar Hanif Dawam Abdullah of the LIPI’s clean technology research division.
The use of plastic bags in Indonesia has increased over the past 10 years, standing at 9.8 billion plastic bags per year, while 95 percent ends up as waste, according to Environment and Forestry Ministry data.
“Ideally, the material we use will degrade into carbon dioxide and water,” Akbar said in Bandung, West Java, on Monday.
Conventional plastics, which need thousands of years to degrade, use petrochemicals derived from fossil fuels.
Hence, LIPI conducted research on cassava starch. They mixed the starch with glycerol at a ratio of 3:1 and heated it between 130 and 150 degrees Celsius while passing it through a processor.
This results in a white bar, the structure of which resembles plastic polymer. The bar is then crushed into organic pellets. “It is edible but we do not produce it for that,” Akbar said.
LIPI has developed a number of formulas to produce the organic material. They have produced sheets using the material since 2018.
To examine the characteristics of the sheets, LIPI uses a telescope capable of magnifying an object by 100,000 times.
“We can also find out the temperature of its melting point and the new chemical bonds by using Fourier-transform infrared technology,” Akbar said
The challenges lay in its limited production and on the starch’s resistance against water. Starch is soluble in water.
“If we carry a plastic bag [made of starch] and it rains, it could be a problem,” said Akbar, adding that his side was improving its technology to make the product more resistant to water.
Other challenges include production costs that were four times that of conventional plastics. But this, Akbar said, had to do with production volume. “If production is larger maybe it will not be much different from the price of plastic.”
The use of starch would also face issues of energy and food security, Akbar’s colleague Neni Sintawardani said. Yet, she expressed optimism that the use of cassava in the product would give added value to cassava farmers.
Statistics Indonesia recorded in 2015 that the country produced over 24 million tons of cassava. It increased to 26 million tons in 2016, placing Indonesia third after Nigeria and Thailand as world’s biggest cassava producers. The main production center is in Lampung and Pati, Central Java.
To further develop organic pellet production, Akbar suggested the establishment of processing plants near cassava production centers to help lower transportation expenses.
All processes were also made close to the processes in the current plastic industry, such as the use of pellet as the main material. “That way the existing industry will not need to change its facilities massively,” Akbar said.
