Fabrication of Bioplastic from Rice Straw

<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> Oil based plastics have been proven as severe pollutants for the environments as they required years to be degraded. Thus, bioplastics are very attractive as the solution of this problem as they easier to be degraded in soil. This work was aimed to fabricate bioplastics from rice straw, with addition of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and glycerol. Prior to the bioplastic fabrication, cellulose was extracted from rice straw through digestion process using ethanol solution (50% w/w) and sodium hydroxide solution (8% w/w) as catalyst. Digestion process was held for 60 minutes at temperature of 120 ^oC. Bioplastics were produced by blending dried pulp, carboxymethyl cellulose, and glycerol. Five grams of dried cellulose was dissolved in 100 ml of water. The amount of CMC and glycerol added to the pulp solution were varied from 1 ml to 2 ml and 0.5 to 1.5 grams, respectively. Swelling test (both in water and oil) and biodegradability test were conducted to study the performance of the bioplastics. Results showed that bioplactic dissolved easily in water. During oil swelling test, it showed that higher glycerol content increases the oil proof characteristic of the bioplastic. Meanwhile, the CMC content has no impact during the oil swelling test. The best composition of the bioplastic was achieved with the CMC and glycerol contents of 1.382% (w/w) and 1,843% (w/w), respectively, with the lowest oil swelling test result of 55%. Biodegradability of the bioplactics were lower in higher CMC and glycerol contents. The best composition with maximum weight reduction of the bioplastics was achieved by the bioplastic with 0.469% (w/w) of CMC content and 0.939% (w/w) of glycerol.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> Bioplastic, Rice Straw, CMC, Glycerol, Swelling, Biodegradability</p>