Jose, Kate Julianne O.

Grade 12-Garnet 12/11/19

Research Design

Title: The Bioplastic Movement: Prawn Shell and Eggshell Wastes as Fillers to Enhance Potato
Starch-based Alternative Biodegradable Plastic

Significance of the Study:

The implications of this study could serve as a basis for communities and organizations
such as the plastic packaging industry and the Department of Environment and Natural
Resources to utilize more alternative means of producing bioplastic using food wastes. Prawns
and eggs are staple products used for the food consumption of many people in the Philippines.
The accumulated prawn shell and eggshell waste in our communities and environment can be
utilized more efficiently through the production of biodegradable plastic materials that are easy
to manufacture, environmental-friendly, and abundant. This study could also help raise
awareness and reduce the negative impacts of plastics to our environment and society.

Alternative Hypothesis:

Prawn shell and eggshell wastes are significantly effective in enhancing the quality of potato
starch-based alternative biodegradable plastic.

Mode of Sampling

The mode of sampling utilized in this study is quota sampling. A specific quantity or
amount of prawn shell and eggshell waste will be acquired to create the bioplastic.. For this
study, 500g worth of prawn shell and 500g of eggshell waste will be the quota.

Procedure on Gathering data:

1. Acquisition of Prawn shells and Egg shell wastes. The researchers will gather 500g each of prawn
shells and crushed eggshells to be used as main filler components for the potato starch-based
bioplastic (2-3 weeks.)

2. Acquisition of chemicals, materials, and equipment to be used. The researchers will need to collect the
following chemicals, materials, and equipment needed for the study (1-2 week):

 Potato starch

 Glycerol
 Acetic Acid

 Distilled Water

 0.5% Potassium permanganate

 0.1M Hydrochloric acid

 Oxalic Acid

 Sodium Hydroxide

 Homogenizer

 Water Bath

 Centrifuge

 Beaker

 Bunsen burner

 Flat slab

3. Sterilzation of eggshell waste. Egg shell waste is cleaned, sterilized, dried and then crushed into
nanoparticles to be used in the making of bioplastic (1 day).

4. Extraction of chitosan from prawn shells. Prawn shell waste will undergo through the process of
decolorization, deproteination, demineralization, and deacetalization in order to obtain chitosan,
a polysaccharide derived from chitin that is responsible for the hardy shells of prawns and other
crustaceans (1 week).

5. Preparation of Potato starch-based bioplastic.. Potato starch, chitosan, and crushed eggshells mixed
together with distilled water, acetic acid, and glycerol are heated under a Bunsen burner and
cooled onto a flat slab to create a thin, transparent sheet of bioplastic (1-3 days).

6. Execution of bioplastic tests. The bioplastic made by the researchers will have to undergo
throught the tensile strength test, water absorption test, and biodegradability test in order to
determine its effectiveness (3 weeks)

7. Documentation and analysis of results. Results from the experiment will be recorded and subjected
to further analysis by the researchers.
 Review of Related Literature

For a thorough analysis of the study, articles, dissertations and scholarly web pages were

accessed and referred to in order to add clarity to the topic being studied. This part includes

relevant works and writings that are connected to the study.

Biodegradable Plastics

Plastics are currently considered to be significant materials due to their properties and

performance over other materials such as metal and wood. With rapid development in

technologies for production and improvement of petroleum-based synthetic polymers, their

applications have also seen a monumental rise in various fields including military, aerospace

engineering and defence, medicine and etc. Currently, The Business Research Company (2018)

revealed that the global market for plastic products is growing at about 3% annually and is

expected to be worth $1.2 trillion by 2020 with plastic packaging materials as the greatest

contributor. Due to the rapid consumption of plastic, Borane (2016) states that the risk of

post-consumer waste has also increased, resulting in a surmountable quantities of plastic waste.

The growing piles of plastic in landfills and swirling in large patches in the oceans are an

alarming environmental crisis. Patel (2017) reports that humans produce over 300 million tons

of plastic a year, about 10 percent of which will end up in the ocean. Plastic pollution is driving

research efforts to make biodegradable, edible plastic films for food packaging.

Kershaw (2015) defines biodegradable plastics as polymers that are capable of being broken

down quite readily by hydrolysis, a process by which chemical bonds are broken by the addition

of water. They are a form of plastic that can be derived from renewable biomass sources, such

as vegetable oil, corn starch, pea starch, or microbiota, rather than fossil-fuel and coals. In a

review by Arikan and Ozsoy (2015), there are four types of degradable plastic: (1)

Photodegradable bioplastics which have light sensitive group incorporated directly into the

backbone of the polymer that can disintegrate their polymeric structure. (2) Bio-based
bioplastics which are plastics wherein 100% of the carbon is derived from renewable agricultural

and forestry resources such as cellulose. (3) Compostable bioplastics which are biologically

decomposed during a composting process at a similar rate to other compostable materials and

without leaving visible toxic remainders. (4) Biodegradable bioplastics which are fully degraded

by microorganism without leaving visible toxic remainders. Biodegradable bioplastics have the

most opportunities among the four because of their actual utilization of microorganisms. To

better understand how bioplastics are derived, the components that are being used for this study

are assessed as follows:

Prawn shells. According to Wyss Institute, one common substance found in crustacean

shells, insect exoskeletons, fungal cells and butterfly wings that can be utilized to create

bioplastics is chitosan, a form of chitin which is a long-chain polymer of N-acetylglucosamine

that is a derivative of glucose (as cited in Brindle, 2015). In a study conducted by Anggraini,

Ulfimarjan, Azima and Yenrina (2017), chitosan can be extracted from chitin in prawn shells

through conventional extraction and enzymatic reaction. Conventional methods of chitosan

extraction includes four stages in which decolorization removes pigment through bleaching

procedures, deproteination removes proteins through alkali treatment, demineralization removes

calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate by acid, and deactylation changes chitin into chitosan

using an alkali solvent. Unlike other similar bioplastics that have been made previously, Patel

(2017) reports that this chitosan-based bioplastic is strong and resists water as well as oils at

room temperature all the way up to 80°C. It does not, however, have adequate water and

oil-blocking performance in aqueous systems, as to not compromise its ability to dissolve

naturally. According to Catchmark, the new kind of bioplastic could be useful for everything

from food coatings to water-resistant paper and coatings for ceiling tiles and wallboard (as cited

in Patel, 2017). Brindle (2015) adds that unlike bioplastics derived from plant materials, which
are expensive to produce and fail to break down entirely, shrilk plastic completely biodegrades

in a matter of weeks.

Eggshells. Eggshells are a highly-ordered porous ceramic that contain about 95% calcium

carbonate and 5% organic materials such as collagen, sulfated polysaccharides, and other

proteins. A study by Jiang, S. Li, Wu, Song, Chen, X. Li, and Sun (2018) states that eggshells

have a wide variety of applications. It has been investigated as an additive for the flour to

improve the strength and toughness of gluten, as a calcium supplement for the feed, as

accessories for the daily cosmetics, and as soil amendment for the immobilization of cadmium

and lead. In addition, eggshells have also been regarded as a good bio-filler for preparing

polymer composites due to its abundance, low price, and renewable resources. Despite cracking

easy in the middle, a report by Quick (2016) states that scientists in Alabama’s Tuskegee

University were able to utilize eggshells in the making of bioplastics. According to Rangari,

eggshells, when crushed into nano-sized particles, help increase the flexibility and strength of

bioplastic as it has much larger specifc surface area than conventionally used calcium carbonate.

It also has a high biodegradability in soil making it an efficient filler component (as cited in

American Chemical Society, 2016).

Potato starch. Starch is used as a starting material for a wide range of green materials.

According to Gadhave, Das, Mahanwar, and Gadekar (2018), 75% of all organic material on

earth is present in the form of polysaccharides. Starch is an important kind of polysaccharide.

Plants synthesize and store starch in their structure as an energy reserve. Starch is found in seeds

and in tubers or roots of the plants. Starch is found abundantly in corn, wheat, rice, potato,

tapioca, pea, and many other botanical resources. On the other hand, Keshav (2016) states that

potatoes are one of the main food sources in the world, with 100–180 different species and

thousands of varieties over the world. Potatoes are an important source of nutrients for humans

and animals. Currently they are mostly used in food production because of their short growing
time and potential for use, as well as their ability to adapt to different climate conditions. A

study by Abdullah, Pudjiraharti, Karina, Putri, and Fauziyyah (2019) states that potato starch, in

particular, is efficient in making bioplastics because it is rich in dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins

and antioxidants, such as phenolic acids, anthocyanins, tocopherol, β-carotene and ascorbic

acid which could be migrated into food in case that potato starch-based plastics are used for

food packaging and would enhance the nutritional value of the food package.

Glycerol. According to Lee (2012), one of the most widely used plasticizers in

thermoplastic processing of proteins is glycerol (C3H8O3). This plasticizer is a low molecular

weight, hydrophilic plasticizer. Bilck, Müller, Olivato, Mali, Grossmann, and Yamashita (2015)

stated that plasticisers create greater flexibility in the polymer structure by reducing the

intermolecular forces and the glass transition temperature of the material, which increases the

mobility of the polymer chains in the starch films. The critical factors for a good plasticizer were

found to be: low melting point, low volatility, and protein compatibility. In addition,

permanence in the film and amount of plasticizer needed should be taken into account when

choosing a good plasticizer. Glycerol’s ability and ease to insert and position itself within the

three-dimensional biopolymer network of the polymer results in a highly plasticizing effect in

protein polymers. Starch and glycerol melt and flow at temperatures between 90 °C and 180 °C

and under shear stress. Previous studies suggest that the interactions between glycerol and starch

are mostly related to hydrogen bonds.

 References

Abdullah, A., Pudjiraharti, S., Karina, M., Putri, O., Fauziyyah, R. (2019). Fabrication and

Characterization of Sweet Potato Starch-based Bioplastics Plasticized with Glycero.

Retrieved from lhttps://scialert.net/abstract/?doi=jbs.2019.57.64

American Chemical Society. (2016). Eggshell nanoparticles could lead to expanded use of bioplastic in
packaging materials. Retrieved from
https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/newsreleases/2016/march/eggshell-nan
oparti cles.html

Anggraini, T., Ulfimarjan, Azima, F., & Yenrina, R. The Effect of Chitosan Concentration on

the Characteristics of Sago (Metroxylon sp) Starch Bioplastics. Retrieved from

https://www.rjpbcs.com/pdf/2017_8(1)/[169].pdf

Arikan, E.., & Ozsoy, H. (2015). A Review: Investigation of bioplastics. Retrieved from

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/12f0/e6a84924a96c0a985e30dfadac57e50f2610.pdf

Bilck, P., Muller, C., Olivato, J., Mali, S., Grossmann, M., & Yamashita, F. Using glycerol

produced from biodiesel as a plasticiser in extruded biodegradable films. Retrieved from

http://www.scielo.br/pdf/po/v25n4/0104-1428-po-25-4-331.pdf

Brindle, B. (2015). Could we make plastics from Shrimp Shells. Retrieved from

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Borane, M. (2016). TiO2/polystyrene core–shell nanoparticles as fillers for LLDPE/PLA blend:

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Jiang, B., Li, S., Wu, Y., Song, J., Chen, S., Li, X., & Sun, H. (2018). Preparation and

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Kershaw, P. (2015). Biodegradable Plastics and Marine Litter: Misconceptions, concepts, and

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