A comparison of starches and plasticizers for biopolymer synthesis and degradation

The production and disposal of plastic waste causes widespread environmental and economic harm. Most plastics are made of crude oil, which does not biodegrade and gathers in landfills, resulting in pollution. Biopolymers made from renewable materials like starch, on the other hand, degrade more rapidly and are cost-effective and versatile. In this study, we aimed to compare several starch-based polymers to identify viable alternatives to plastic made from crude oil. While multiple studies have investigated individual starch-based biopolymers, we conducted a direct comparison of different ratios of various types of starch and additives used to modify the properties of the resulting biopolymers to identify the polymer with the highest rate of degradation by sodium hydroxide. We hypothesized that potato starch and glycerol would lead to a biopolymer most susceptible to degradation due to its less stable chemical composition. However, our results indicated that the biopolymer made from potato starch and citric acid was the most susceptible to degradation, as it took the shortest time to reach complete degradation (53 min). Other biopolymers took up to 143 minutes to degrade. Starch-based biopolymers rapidly degrade and should be considered as an alternative to plastic made from crude oil. Our study shows that the type of starch and addictive used affect the rate of degradation, making starch-based biopolymers highly versatile for different applications.