Pengaruh Variasi Komposisi Gliserol dan Kitosan terhadap Kualitas Plastik Biodegradable dari Bekatul

Synthetic plastic waste is the biggest environmental problems that occur at this time, synthetic plastic waste which is difficult to decompose naturally as well as by microorganisms, such plastic waste takes 200-500 years in order to degraded by soil. Therefore, to speed up the rate of decomposition it is necessary to replace synthetic polymers with natural polymers. Starch is a natural polymer that can be used in the manufacture of biodegradable plastics. The byproducts of rice, namely bran has a starch content ranging from 45-55%. Rice bran added with glycerol, chitosan and acetic acid can produce biodegradable plastic. This study was conducted to determine the effect of addition of glycerol and chitosan on the process of making biodegradable plastic from bran. Plastic made in sheet film. To obtain a plastic film from bran, it has been done by varying the composition of glycerol 3.0; 4,5; 6.0 and 7.5 mL, while chitosan composition 2.0; 3.0 and 4.0 grams with bran flour in each variation of 4 grams and 3 mL acetic acid were heated in 65 ° C and stirred with a magnetic stirer for 60 minutes. To know the result of this research, elongation test and tensile strength test using clipping test, biodegradability test with soil burial test method, and water resistance test by soaking method. The best result in this research was variation of glycerol composition 6 mL and chitosan 3 gram with result of tensile strength test 9,91 MPa, elongation test 60%, 92% biodegradability test and 76% water resistance test. The conclusion of this research is that the effect of adding glycerol as plasticizer can make the plastic more flexible and chitosan can make the plastic stronger