Formulation and Fabrication of Biofoam from Rice Husk Waste Using Thermopress Technique as a Substitute for Styrofoam Food Packaging

The role of plastic packaging in protecting food is considerable, but issues such as non-biodegradable properties, recycling problems, and leaching of harmful chemicals on food and soil create serious concerns for human health and the environment. Global packaging protocols and awareness about plastic packaging also make it necessary to develop new packaging materials that focus on the environment, food quality and safety. Therefore, urgent attention is needed for alternative biodegradable food packaging materials, so this study aims to fabricate biofoam from rice husk waste using starch adhesive. The main material used was rice husk with size variations of 40, 60 and 80 mesh. The weight ratio between husk and adhesive is 1:2. All biofoam products were analyzed for physical properties (water absorption), heat resistance and biodegradability. Based on the research that has been done, biofoam of rice husk waste with starch adhesive has the potential to be used as a substitute for synthetic polymers with the sticking method with a compressive strength of 100 kg at a temperature of 102°C. The best biofoam is in the variation of 80 mesh particles with added weight after testing water absorption of 15%, heat resistance with added weight of 1%.