The addition of dispersing agent on the bioplastic morphology, mechanical properties, and biodegradability of sago starch bioplastic with microfiber reinforcement of oil palm empty fruit bunches

Bioplastics were developed as an alternative to synthetic plastics because they are considered more environmentally friendly. This research was conducted with the aim of improving the physical properties of sago starch bioplastics by adding dispersing agents and filler reinforced by utilizing palm processing industry waste, namely Microfibrillated Cellulose (MFC) or microfibre cellulose. Bioplastics were analyzed through morphological tests with SEM, mechanical tests with tensile strength, elongation and biodegradability tests. The results showed that the dispersing agent was able to smooth the surface of the sago starch bioplastic without changing its bond structure. Moreover, the value of its tensile strength increased by 89.75% compared to sago starch bioplastic without the addition of MFC reinforcement. The optimum mixture for adding dispersing agents and MFC as fillers to sago starch bioplastics is 10%w/w MFC and 1%w/w KCl with a tensile strength value of 4.535 MPa. Furthermore, the results of the biodegradability test concluded that the addition of dispersing agents was able to make the process of bioplastic degradation in the soil faster due to the hydrophilic nature of KCl with a percent mass loss of ±85.366% with an M0 value of 0.615 g and a Ma of 0.09