The Effect of Compatibilizer Addition on Chlorella vulgaris Microalgae Utilization as a Mixture for Bioplastic

¹ Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Universitas Indonesia, Depok 16424, Indonesia.
² Bioprocess Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Universitas Indonesia, Depok 16424, Indonesia.

^* Coresponding author: dianursanti@yahoo.com

Abstract

Nowadays, plastic waste is the biggest environmental issues. Since the usage of conventional plastic which come from synthesis polymer that can not be decomposed by decomposer. One of the solution is bioplastic. This study used Chlorella vulgaris and PVA as the based materials to made bioplastic. Chlorella vulgaris is chosen as the new potential of raw material for its high amount of biopolymer (Protein, carbs). However, Chlorella/PVA has some weakness such as poor physical- chemical properties. Compatibilizer is needed to improve the homogeneity and compatibility of natural and synthetic mixtures as both materials have different properties. This study aims to obtain the best maleic anhydrates concentration as compatibilizer for PVA-Chlorella plastic based. Maleic anhydrate-grafted PVA (PVA-g-MAH) was synthesized by blending PVA, maleic anhydrate, DMSO and KPS with temperature 120°C. Chlorella was modified by mixing distillated water and glycerol. Both of them are mixed well then molding by temperature 120°C. The addition of maleic anhydrates concentration (2%, 4%, 5% wt of PVA) respectively improve surface structure and cause increasing in tensile strength from 31.27 to 42.25 kgf/cm² and also increasing elongation from 10.86 to 13.00 %. With this result, it can be indicated that compatibilizer addition can improve the homogeneity and elasticity the mixture of PVA-Chlorella plastic film.