Water Hyacinth (Eichornia Crassipes) Cellulose and Mung Beans (Viga Radiata) Starch as Composite Plant Bag with Plasticizer Glycerol

Abstract. Cellulose-starch blend was the remedy to the stark environmental issues of petrochemical-based plant bag (Technavio, 2019; Blick et al., 2014). Using the Randomized Complete Block Design, this study prompted to design a composite plant bag made of mung bean starch and water hyacinth cellulose with plasticizer glycerol. The study involves the investigation of the best ratio of cellulose-starch in producing plant bag, evaluation of the intrinsic attributes of the different ratio in terms of their tensile strength, elongation, swelling behavior, and biodegradability, and lastly, its significant difference to the pure starch-based plant bag on the said properties. The researchers prepared five treatments: four experimental (cellulose-starch mixture) and one control (pure starched mixture); each has four replicates. Researchers used two sample unpaired t-test and Likert scale to assess the intrinsic attributes of each treatment. The results unveiled that the ratio 8:2 of mung bean starch and water hyacinth cellulose respectively yields the best mixture among the treatments. It has a tensile strength, elongation, and swelling percentage of 40 MPa, 40% and 160% respectively and was degraded under laboratory condition (thoroughly assessed through their thickness, decolorization and tearing apart after the introduction of microbial solution on it). It was also significantly better than the pure starched-mixture having a t-computed value of t (2) = 3.52, 4.51, 2.90 and 0, p<.05 respectively. The researchers concluded that the higher the concentration amount of water hyacinth cellulose on the system, the higher the tensile strength, elongation, swelling percentage, and the longer its shelf life.