Zinc Oxide-Bioplastic Bags: Polyethylene Alternative Considering

Tensile Strength and Antimicrobial Property

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the requirements in the subject

SCI 402

Modern Biology

Laylo, Ray Angelo G.

Leyesa, Krizzia Joyce L.

Oba, Aaron Paul M.

Titular, Joe Vincent P.

July 2019
 CHAPTER 1

The Problem and its Background

Background of the Study

Plastics had become a part of person's everyday life. Everywhere a person goes, he can

encounter different types of plastics. Due to its properties, it can be used in abundant ways. It can

be used in different aspect such as in construction industry, agriculture industry, and health

industry. Nevertheless, the most common and popular usage of plastics are in the manufacturing

industry. Plastics are the most used product in the industry because of its affordability and high

biostability. However, industry commonly use plastics only as packaging which consumers

dispose. They do not use it, so they throw away it as a garbage which contributes to the emerging

pollution in the environment. Although plastics are made from naturally occurring resources, most

of them are made from petroleum which imposes great harm and damage to the environment

(Nobelprize, 2017). According to Knoblauch (2009) when plastics are thrown into dump fills,

chemicals may seep to land and groundwater which causes pollution. In addition, marine species

and animals can ingest the plastics which is harmful to themselves and to other animals that will

consume the affected species. In other words, there can be a time wherein plastic chemicals can

extend into the food chain. This means that plastic chemicals can eventually affect the organisms

that human consume and consequently give a negative impact to humanity. Not only the

environment and the organisms can be harmed due to plastics that human use but also themselves

because of their negligence. (BioTec Environmental, h.d.)

 The problems that plastics create are very alarming, yet humans still continue to use plastics

in everyday life. Humans bear in their minds that plastics are harmful, but they do not act

accordingly/responsibly with it. At present, the common plastic-made materials suggest the

increase frequency usage of plastics in people's everyday lives. This observation is statistically

supported by as research conducted by PlasticsEurope (n.d.) which revealed that the 1.5 million

tons of plastics produced from 1950 gradually increased to 322 million tons in 2015.

With this alarming rate of plastic production, the proponents decided to develop a material

that will reduce the manufacturing of polyethylene and mitigate environmental problems while

providing a potential product that can be as useful as the common plastic product. The ZnO-

bioplastic bag is an eco-friendly product that can reduce and lessen the carbon footprints and use

of crude oil in plastic manufacturing. Furthermore, with ZnO's strengthening and antimicrobial

property, ZnO-bioplastic can be a decent and viable material for plastic bags.

Research Hypothesis

Alternative Hypothesis: If Zinc-Oxide is incorporated to bioplastic, then the resulting Zinc-Oxide

bioplastic will have a greater tensile strength and better antimicrobial property towards yeast than

a regular bioplastic.

Null Hypothesis: If Zinc-Oxide is incorporated to bioplastic, then the resulting Zinc-Oxide

bioplastic will not have a greater tensile strength and better antimicrobial property towards yeast

than a regular bioplastic.

Statement of the Problem

Bioplastics are eco-friendly plastics that has low biostability. Thus, the research group came

up with an idea of devising a new formula of bioplastic that improves its quality. The researchers

will determine:

1. What are the properties of Zinc-Oxide that make it a conducive additional component to

make environment-friendly plastic bags?

2. What is the effect of the addition of Zinc-Oxide to the tensile strength of bioplastics?

3. What is the effect of the addition of Zinc-Oxide to the antimicrobial property towards yeast

of bioplastics?

Significance of the Study

Plastics have become a vital material for humanity. The common compounds found in

plastics take a lot of time to decompose and are harmful due to the processes to produce them. This

is the issue that this study aims to solve and the product it aims to develop. This product, a ZnO-

bioplastic bag, could be a possible alternative and an eco-friendlier material than synthetic plastic

bags. Aside from the existence of bioplastics, the incorporation of ZnO will hypothetically improve

the bioplastics’ tensile strength and antimicrobial property.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study will focus only on what are the effects of adding ZnO to bioplastic especially on

their tensile strength and antimicrobial property towards yeast. The study will also focus on the
comparison of the ZnO-bioplastic and a regular bioplastic. It would not be compared to other kinds

of polyethylene since those are already an improved industrial grade material. In addition, other

characteristics of ZnO-bioplastics like toxicity and elasticity will not be investigated.

Consequently, addition of water to the ZnO-bioplastic and the effects of different temperature to

the material will not be included in the study. Similarly, the different amount of ZnO that will be

added to the bioplastic will not be observed and that the time of it to decompose will not also be

part of the study. Lastly, the study would only focus on one type of microbe, fungus yeast, in

investigating the antimicrobial property.

Definition of Terms

Antimicrobial. Active against microbes; inhibits microbial growth

Bioplastic. A biodegradable material made from renewable sources which is a great solution to

reduce the problem of plastic waste that pollutes and destroy the environment.

Biostability. The relative stability of biomedical polymers in the physiological environment as a

function of time.

Carbon Footprint. Amount of carbon compounds emitted due to the consumption

of fossil fuels.

Plastic. Derived from petroleum oil and made by scientists and engineers.

Polyethylene. A light and strong plastic that is used mainly in sheets for packaging.

Polymer. Many synthetic organic materials used as plastics and resins.

Tensile Strength. A material’s resistance to breaking under tension.

Yeast. Scientific name Saccharomyces cerevisiae; microbe classified as a fungus that may cause

sicknesses in the human body in extreme amounts.

Zinc Oxide (ZnO). A chemical compound in the form of white powder that it widely used in

making numerous products.

ZnO-Bioplastic. Bioplastic coated on one side with ZnO powder.

Chapter 2
Review of Related Literature

This study cited books, articles, journals and websites that are significant to the present

investigation which is presented in this section of the paper. It is composed of related literatures

which contain various concepts and studies that support the alternative hypothesis of the paper.

Related Literature

Plastics have come a really long way in being part of human's life. The wide knowledge of

chemistry had paved its way to such innovations like bioplastics to mitigate environmental harm.

It had also contributed to the inventions of massive machines and devices, but it had also made

something so seemingly trivial such as the compound Zinc Oxide (ZnO) which is merely a form

of an ordinary white powder.

Despite of its appearance, ZnO has an array of properties specifically the strengthening

property and antimicrobial property. This compound, ZnO, is a necessity for various industries

like cosmetics and skin care products. With the addition of ZnO to such products, it improves skin
health as well as treat and prevent certain minor skin problems (Axe, n.d.). According to

AZoMaterials (2011), ZnO had taken its benefit due to its antimicrobial and deodorizing property.

It is also used in cement industry since it contributes to the strengthening of concrete

(AZoMaterials, 2011). Its strengthening property is the main reason why it is also used in making

ceramics (PubChem, 2017). Other industries also benefit in the utilization of ZnO that includes

rubber and textile industries (Kołodziejczak-Radzimska and Jesionowski, 2014).

Regardless of these numerous industries, scientists are still searching different ways to

harness the potential of the properties of ZnO. This will help in order to achieve more scientific

breakthroughs that would benefit the environment and improve human life. With this, most of the

industries are engaged with the incorporation of ZnO in their business, specifically in packaging

and delivery.

Different kinds of plastics have been utilized to package products in order to be

successfully delivered from one place to another for a very long time. One of the simplest and

often example of plastic usage in transporting goods is the convenience of plastic bags as an easy

way to carry items from stores to homes. However, with the functionality of plastics comes with

its harmful effect to the environment. It is the issue that encouraged many scientists in seeking

different ways to lessen or to eliminate the harmful effects of these plastics. Through

polymerization, scientists were able to find a solution that encompasses an environment-friendly

plastic that is called bioplastics. Furthermore, the application of ZnO to the bioplastic can

apparently improve its quality.

As previously mentioned, the strengthening and antimicrobial properties of ZnO improve

the tensile strength and antimicrobial property of bioplastics. There have been several experiments
conducted by scientists which examined its properties that resulted to an outcome generally in

favor of ZnO's efficiency.

Strengthening Property of Zinc Oxide

A tensile strength of a polymer is 14.3N/mm2 (2074.04 psi), by the addition of ZnO

conducted in an experiment by Mohan and Renjanadevi (2016), it increased to 16.3 N/mm2

(2364.12 psi) with a composition of 1% ZnO and to 23N/mm2 (3335.87 psi) with a composition

of 1.5% ZnO. With a 2% composition of ZnO, the highest tensile strength of 29N/mm2 (4206.09

psi) was recorded from the experiment. Epoxy composite is a thermoset resin used to create

composite materials. The composite’s strength is 320 MPa (46412.10 psi). Having an increasing

value is the same trend observed in the experiment of Boopalan, Michael, Yoganand, and

Umapathy (2012) involving the incorporation of ZnO to epoxy producing a ZnO-epoxy composite.

The addition of 1% and 3% ZnO compositions respectively increased the value to 401 MPa

(58160.10 psi) and 440 MPa (63816.60 psi). The peak strength 9f 465 MPa (67442.50 psi) was

reached at 5% ZnO composition. The research also included in this study the impact of ZnO on

bioplastic where in ZnO can improve bioplastic. In an experiment by Harunsyah and Fauzan

(2017), it was found that ZnO also enhances the tensile strength of cassava starch bioplastic. A

cassava starch sample alone had a tensile strength of 17 kgf/mm2 (24179.70 psi). Combining it

with ZnO, this increased to 19.20% w/w (27308.82 psi) with 0.2% w/w ZnO and 20kgf/mm2

(28446.70psi) with 0.4% w/w ZnO. The highest tensile strength of 20.6 kgf/mm2 (29300.09psi)

is reached at 0.6% w/w ZnO. These results suggest that there is a potential and effectiveness of

ZnO in different materials depending on its physical and chemical properties. In each of the three

different materials are results that showed the increase in the value of each of the material's

strength.
Antimicrobial Property of Zinc Oxide

In the research conducted by Farzana, Iqra, Shafaq, Sumaira, Zakia, Hunaiza and Huzna

(2017), it was found out that the antimicrobial property of ZnO is more effective in some microbes

than others. In their study, they observed separately the growth of microbes E. coli (Escherichia

Coli) and K. pneumoniae (Klebsiella pneumoniae) in the presence of 0.2 mg/ml ZnO, 0.4 mg/ml

ZnO, 0.6 mg/ml ZnO, 0.8 mg/ml ZnO, and 1 mg/ml ZnO. They discovered that the higher the

amount of ZnO leads to the increase of the microbial growth inhibition zone. Similarly, an

experiment conducted by He, Liu, Mustapha, and Lin (2010), they exposed P. expansum

(Penicillium expansum) and B. cinerea (Botrytis cinerea) to 3 mmol/L ZnO, 6 mmol/L ZnO, and

12 mmol/L ZnO, and discovered that microbial growth decreases as amount of ZnO increase. They

also observed the growth of microbes in the absence of ZnO and found out that as there was an

increase in amount of ZnO, the growth of P. expansum and B. cinerea were reduced by 61% to

91% and 63% to 80%, respectively. This led to the conclusion that the former P. expansum, is

more susceptible to the antimicrobial property of ZnO. Moreover, in the research of Zvekic, Srdic,

Karaman, and Matavulj, they observed and compared the growth of S. cerevisiae (Saccharomyces

cerevisiae), P. aeruginosa (Pseudomonad aeruginosa), and S. aureus (Staphylococcus aureus) in

varnish without ZnO, in varnish with 0.4% w/w ZnO, and in varnish with 0.7% w/w ZnO. The

ZnO-free varnish exhibited no signs of microbial inhibition. The varnish with 0.4% w/w ZnO and

0.7% w/w ZnO completely inhibited the growth of S. cerevisiae and P. aeruginosa and inhibited

the growth of S. aureus by 85% and 95%, respectively.

 Chapter 3

Methodology

Research Design

Since this research mainly focuses on numerical data and experimentation, it was designed

to be a quantitative research. This experimental research mainly focused on two materials, ZnO

and bioplastic, which when manipulated, can make ZnO-bioplastic that can be made as bags. ZnO's

strengthening and antimicrobial property were also studied to determine its viability and

effectiveness. In addition, by adding ZnO to bioplastic to determine whether it affected its tensile

strength and antimicrobial property, further classified this study as an experimental research.

Furthermore, specific properties of ZnO-bioplastic were compared to regular bioplastic through

experimentation and observation. To be more specific, this study was made to test and compare

the tensile strength and antimicrobial property of ZnO-bioplastic and regular bioplastic towards

yeast. What made this study an experimental research was the necessity to conduct the

aforementioned experimentations to prove or disprove the hypotheses of this research.

Conceptual Framework
 The latter's tensile strength and microbial property of bioplastics could be improved by the

addition of ZnO which a possible improvement of bioplastic as a commercial bag is. Properties

existing in ZnO could be an improvement for bioplastic as it is already being research to know

more of its uses in the industry of food and other fields of science and development.

The effectiveness of ZnO varies on the materials being use despite the increase in the

materials' tensile strength with after the addition of ZnO. The tensile strength of a certain polymer

in an experiment by Mohan and Renjanadevi (2016) increase by 16.3N/mm2 (2364.12) from its

original amount of 14.3N/mm2 just by adding 1% of ZnO composition. Another experiment by

Boopalan, Michael, Yoganand, and Umapathy (2012) involving a ZnO epoxy composition

increased its tensile strength from 320 MPa (46412.10 psi) to 401 MPa (58160.10 psi) with 1%

ZnO composition. Similar to these two is a study of Harumsyah and Fauzan (2017) wherein a 0.6%

w/w ZnO increased the tensile strength of a cassava starch bioplastic to 20.6 kgf/mm2 (29300.09

psi) from 20 kgf/mm2 (28446.70 psi).

Some microbes better than others exist in ZnO. These microbes with antimicrobial property

on E. coli (Escherichia coli) and K. pneumoniae (Klebsiella pneumoniae) are found in an

experiment conducted by Farzana, Idra, Shafaq, Sumaira, Zakia, Hunaiza, and Husna (2017). He,

Liu, Mustapha, and Lin (2010) also presented a content of ZnO which is the P. expansum

(Penycillum expansum) that is better than B. cinera (Botrytis cinerea). Similarly, Zvekic, Srdic,

Karaman, and Matavulj (2011) found that microbial inhibition on ZnO is the same with P.

aeruginosa (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and S. cerevisiae (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) but with a

lower efficiency than S. aureus (Staphylococcus aureus). These experiments revealed that as the
number of microbes ZnO is exposed increases, the number of microbes to survive or reproduce

decreases. In conclusion, a higher amount of inhibited ZnO is better from microbial growth.

Despite these researches revealing that ZnO has a strengthening agent and better microbial

property, its effectiveness will depend on the object/organism it was applied on. The researchers

will conduct various experiments on each of the sample materials to determine the impact of ZnO

to bioplastics and the difference on the bioplastics with and without ZnO.

Data Collection Procedure

Acquiring the Samples

The study was conducted in order to assess the impact of ZnO towards bioplastic. The

focus of the study was to create an enhanced formula of ZnO-bioplastic. In order to gather the data

needed, the ingredients needed to create a basic-laboratory grade bioplastic were: 9.5 grams of

corn starch, 6O milliliters of distilled water, 5 milliliters of vinegar ad 5 milliliters of glycerin.

Water was first poured into a pot which was followed by the starch. The mixture was stirred

thoroughly before the addition of vinegar and glycerin, which was mixed well again. Afterwards,

the concoction was heated on a hot plate at maximum heat which was stirred constantly. The heat

was lowered to medium heat upon the change in the mixture’s consistency. It was stirred

continuously for a couple more minutes before evenly spreading on a tray. This process was done

twice to produce two bioplastics. However, the difference on the procedure of the second bioplastic

was the incorporation of Zinc Oxide. It was added after the addition of vinegar and glycerin. Both

mixtures were allowed to dry for at least two days at room temperature before scrapping off the

tray.
Testing the Tensile Strength

The samples of ZnO-bioplastic and bioplastic were cut equally into rectangles with

dimensions of 2 inches by 3.5 inches and area of 7 square inches. Hooking the blocks were used

in order to test the strength of each samples. More blocks were hooked one after another until the

samples were torn or broken. Afterwards, the blocks that were used was weighed in grams (g),

which was recorded as the weight at which the samples were broken. The recorded weights in

grams was converted into pounds (lbs) to compute the tensile strength. The tensile strength was

determined by the formula:

𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑡 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒𝑛

𝑇𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑙𝑒 𝑆𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ =
𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙

Three trials were conducted to three samples of ZnO-bioplastic and bioplastic. After

computing the tensile strength of each sample of ZnO-bioplastic and bioplastic, the average tensile

strength was then calculated. The results of both samples were compared, wherein the material

with higher average tensile strength was recorded as stronger.

Testing the Antimicrobial Property

A yeast culture was made to examine the antimicrobial property towards yeast of both

ZnO-bioplastic and bioplastic. The nutrient agar was prepared by heating a mixture of 4.6 grams

of nutrient agar and 200 milliliters of water in an Erlenmeyer flask. It was stirred constantly until

it boils, then removed from heat and allowed to cool from 50C to 45C. The flask was then sealed

with cotton plug, which was covered with aluminum foil. Together with the two petri dishes to be

used later, the agar was sterilized using an autoclave. After sterilization, the agar was allowed to
cool down, then a teaspoon of yeast was added. The mixture was thoroughly mixed and was poured

evenly into the petri dishes. The researchers heated the mouth of the flask and petri dishes every

time they opened them. The nutrient agar with yeast on petri dishes were left to settle until it

solidifies. While it settles, the researchers cut small pieces of ZnO-bioplastic and placed it in the

middle of one petri dish. Same thing was done with bioplastic to the other petri dish. The

researchers left the petri dishes undisturbed for at least three days at room temperature, while

observing if any of the yeast came close to the samples.

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Appendix