Preparation of Environmentally Friendly Bioplastics from Marine Red Algae, Salt Horned Seaweed, And Seaweed

The present study aimed to prepare sustainable and eco - friendly bio - plastics of agar extracted from the red seaweeds - Gracilaria deblis, Gracilaria salicornia and Gracilaria edulis. The agar was extracted by Hot - water extraction method (HWE) and the agar yield percentage was determined. The agar yield was high for Gracilaria edulis – 32% than the other two species. Bioplastics were prepared from the agar obtained from the three different species of Gracilaria. Sorbitol, glycerol, and starch were used as plasticizer to increase the elasticity and flexibility of the bioplastic films. The water solubility percentage was calculated for the bioplastics and it is higher for Gracilaria salicornia (86%) when compared with the other two species and found to have low strength and bioplastic made from G. deblis has low water solubility and considered to be the best when compared with other bioplastics as they resist moisture for a longer period and help to increase the shelf life of products. The prepared bioplastic was subjected to biodegradation test.1g of each bioplastic was buried in soil and reweighed after one month and the biodegradation rate was determined. The weight loss percentage was higher for Gracilaria deblis (47.9%) when compared with Gracilaria edulis (21.8%) and Gracilaria salicornia (16.6%). The results showed that the solubility of Gracilaria salicornia was higher than Gracilaria deblis and Gracilaria edulis. This proves that agar extracted from marine macro algae Gracilaria deblis, Gracilaria salicornia and Gracilaria edulis can be used as starting material for the synthesis of eco - friendly bioplastic.