Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 8 (2020) 104396

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jece

Influence of natural factors on the biodegradation of simple and composite

bioplastics based on cassava starch and corn starch
Yacouba Zoungranan a, *, Ekou Lynda b, Kouassi Kouadio Dobi-Brice b, Ekou Tchirioua b,
Coulibaly Bakary c, Dje Daniel Yannick b
a
Biological Sciences Training and Research Unit: Department of Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. University Peleforo Gon Coulibaly, B.P. 1328, Korhogo, Côte
d’Ivoire
b
Basic and Applied Sciences Training and Research Unit: Department of Chemistry, University Nangui Abrogoua 02, B.P. 801 Abidjan 02, Côte d’Ivoire
c
Centre Ivoirien Antipollution (CIAPOL), Central Environmental Laboratory, 04 BP 541 Abidjan 04, Côte d’Ivoire

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Editor: Teik Thye Lim The massive use of petrochemical plastics has become a real problem for health and the environment. This
problem is related to the non-biodegradable character of a great majority of these plastics and to the presence of
Keywords: certain chemical substances sometimes toxic in their internal structures. The development of biodegradable and
Cola Cordifolia less dangerous plastics thus represents an alternative to the petrochemical plastics. Two types of bioplastics were
Biodegradability
elaborated from cassava starch and corn starch. The simple bioplastics were obtained from starch only. The
Biosourced plastics
composite bioplastics were obtained by adding a natural ingredient extracted from the species Cola cordifolia to
Microorganisms
Pollution the starch. The biodegradability was assessed through burial tests in soil. The biodegradation was confirmed by
the burial soil pH measurement. The burials in soil were also carried out taking into account the influence of
abiotic (humidity, temperature) and biotic (enrichment in microorganisms) factors. The study showed that
biodegradability of bioplastics is linked to the nature of the starch used. The simple cassava-based bioplastic
degraded faster than those based on corn. The addition of the Cola cordifolia’s natural ingredient, significantly
improves the biodegradability of composite bioplastics compared to simple bioplastics. However, variability of
environmental factors can improve or disadvantage biodegradability. Humidity promotes the biodegradability of
bioplastics, especially composite bioplastics, up to a maximum rate of 15%. Enrichment in microorganisms is
unfavourable beyond 10% enrichment for simple corn bioplastic and beyond 20% enrichment for composite and
simple cassava-based bioplastics. The burial temperatures above 30 ◦ C lead to a decrease in the biodegradability
of bioplastics.

1. Introduction waste management, such as recycling, reuse and incineration. Unfor­

Sustainable development has become today, a major priority
worldwide. One of the limiting factors of sustainable development is the
proliferation of plastic waste. Plastics, mainly from petrochemicals, are
used in everyday life, mainly in packaging applications. Unfortunately, a
large fraction of these plastics is non-biodegradable and cause negative
environmental impacts, including carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and
long-term accumulation in the environment [1]. Also, toxic substances
such as bisphenol A, antimony and phthalates contained in some plastic
packaging can seep into food products [2,3] and cause varying degrees
of harm to human health.
However, to limit these negative effects, there are methods of plastic
tunately recycling or reuse does not eliminate toxic substances or non-
biodegradability and incineration is a source of environmental pollu­
tion. Degradation pathways such as photodegradation, thermo-
oxidative degradation and biodegradation are currently being dis­
cussed [4,5] as alternatives. Biodegradation is the process of breaking
down long polymer chains into small units of dimers or monomers that
are readily degradable by microbial enzymes [4].The proliferation of
synthetic plastics derived from petrochemicals has thus become a real
problem in terms of health, environment and economy [6]. The use of
microorganisms for environmental remediation has been widely
addressed in several areas of scientific research [7–9]. To cope with this
proliferation, the global trend is to ban single-use plastic packaging

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: zoungranan@gmail.com (Y. Zoungranan).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2020.104396
Received 18 May 2020; Received in revised form 18 July 2020; Accepted 12 August 2020
Available online 21 August 2020
2213-3437/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Y. Zoungranan et al.
derived from petrochemicals and that is why the Republic of Ivory Coast
has adopted the law n◦ 2013-327*, prohibiting the use of plastic bags
essentially derived from petrochemicals. In this context, the elaboration
of biosourced and biodegradable plastics from local materials appears as
an alternative to non-biodegradable petrochemical plastics [10].
Bioplastic terminology refers to a biodegradable petrochemical
plastic or a plastic material obtained from natural biological resources
(biosourced bioplastic) [11]. Biosourced bioplastics are generally ob­
tained from renewable resources [12–15] such as polysaccharides (cel­
lulose, starch, pectin, chitin), proteins (gluten, casein, gelatin), lipids
(animal and vegetable oils) or from certain substances produced by
some micro-organisms (microalgae). In bioplastics production pro­
cesses, polysaccharides, proteins, lipids or the substances derived from
microorganisms can be used alone (conventional bioresources) or in the
form of non-conventional bioresources (modified or combined bio­
resources) [16,17]. Biosourced bioplastics can also be chemically syn­
thesized from substances derived in whole or in part from intermediates
products of biological origin [11,18] such as poly(lactic acid) (PLA),
poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) and poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA). Not
all biobased bioplastics are biodegradable. This is the case for bio­
sourced polymers such as bio-PE (bio-polyethylene), bio-PET (bio-­
ethylene terephthalate) or bio-PTT (bio-poly(methylene terephthalate)).
The latter, like their petrochemical counterparts, are
non-biodegradable.
Biodegradable fossil-based plastics can be synthesized from petro­
chemicals [19], including poly(glycolic acid) (PGA), poly(caprolactone)
(PCL), poly(butylene succinate-co-terephthalate) (PBST), poly(butylene
adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA). In this
study, the term bioplastic is used to refer to a bio-based plastic.
In recent years, research on biodegradable plastic has progressed
considerably [5,10,20–23]. However, in some developing countries such
as Ivory Coast, despite the existence of legislation, prohibiting the pro­
liferation of non-biodegradable plastics, one still finds little biodegrad­
able plastic packaging on the market and this because of their high cost.
The present study falls within the framework of a research of
development of biosourced and biodegradable bioplastics which can be
cheap and available so as to constitute a true alternative to the synthetic
plastics of petrochemistry in Cote d’Ivoire.
To be used as biodegradable food packaging, the manufacture of
bioplastics requires materials that degrade quickly but above all without
harming human health and the environment. In recent years, several
studies to improve the physico-chemical properties of bioplastics have
led to the development of composite bioplastics. This type of bioplastic
often contains dangerous additives such as titanium dioxide [24] or
sulphuric acid [25,26]. It is thus necessary to be directed towards the
research of biodegradable biosourced plastics which can be without
sanitary danger, not very expensive, available and likely to represent a
true alternative to petrochemical plastics. In the present study,
starch-based bioplastics were developed in the laboratory using local
varieties of cassava and corn. Two types of plastics were developed.
These are simple bioplastics, made with starch only and composite
bioplastics obtained by adding a natural ingredient extracted from the
bark of the medicinal woody species Cola cordifolia to the starch. The
biodegradability of these two types of bioplastics was assessed through
burial tests in soil. The influence of environmental factors such as
temperature, humidity and enrichment in microorganisms was taken
into account under controlled conditions during the burial tests.
*
Decree n◦ 2013-327 of 22 May 2013, available on the website: http://www.
environnement.gouv.ci/img/1395672243decretsachetplast.pdf
2
Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 8 (2020) 104396
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Elaboration
2.1.1. Biosources
Corn variety F 8128 (Zea mays F8128) [27] and cassava variety TMS
30572 (Manihot esculenta crantzmanioc TMS 30572) [28] were selected
as biosources (Fig. 1) of starch in this study. This choice is justified by
the availability of these biosources throughout the national territory and
especially by the fact that starch, as an agro-sourced polymer, has strong
advantages such as its low cost, its total compostability and the absence
of toxic residues [25]. The corn variety comes from the town of Katiola
located in central Ivory Coast, 392.3 km from the capital Abidjan. As for
cassava, the tubers come from Aboisso, a town in the south-eastern part
of Ivory Coast, located 116.7 km from the city of Abidjan.
2.1.2. Starch extraction
The corn and cassava biosources were sent to the laboratory to un­
dergo the starch extraction process.
The cassava tubers were stripped of their skins then, cut into small
pieces and the pieces carefully washed with distilled water.
The corn grains were sorted while taking care to remove plant debris
and dead insects. Grains obtained after sorting, were carefully washed
and then soaked for 48 hours in distilled water. The grains were then
degermed.
Using a mortar grinder (Retsch RM200, Haan, Germany) the
degermed corn grains and the cassava pieces were separately ground.
Each grind obtained was diluted in distilled water to obtain a pasty
solution consisting of starch, proteins and fibers. The solution is suc­
cessively filtered through sieves (Saulas, Paris, France) whose smallest
mesh size is 100 μm. The filtrate is kept at rest for two hours for settling
at room temperature. The supernatant is removed and then the residual
pasty matrix representing the raw starch is purified. Purification con­
sisted in washing with a 4 % w/v NaCl solution. The role of NaCl is to
facilitate the solubilization and removal of proteins by washing. The
washing with the NaCl solution is repeated three times and then the
pasty residue is thoroughly rinsed with distilled water, to ensure com­
plete removal of NaCl. The final residue obtained represents the starch
required for the remainder of the study. This starch is dried in an oven
(Memmert BM300, Schwabach, Germany) at 40 ◦ C for 72 hours.
2.1.3. Extraction of Cola cordifolia’s natural ingredient
The natural ingredient is extracted from the bark of the medicinal
woody species Cola cordifolia belonging to the Sterculiaceae family. In
addition to the usual tannins and polysaccharides, Cola cordifolia bark
contains a characteristic pectic polymer called CC1P1 [30] or Cola cor­
difolia polymer. This polymer has short side chains which allow it to take
on several conformations and to adapt or intercalate according to its
environment. The woody species Cola Cordifolia is abundant and avail­
able in the forests of southern Ivory Coast.
To obtain the natural ingredient, fresh barks of Cola Cordifolia was
harvested in Aboisso and taken to the laboratory, where it was carefully
cleaned of impurities and cut into small pieces. The pieces of bark were
then soaked in distilled water in a ratio 1:2.5 w/v for 24 hours at room
temperature. After filtration by gravity, the aqueous solution obtained
represents the natural ingredient and is ready for use. It is a highly
viscous solution, immediately used to avoid degradation of the
polymers.
2.1.4. Obtaining of the simple bioplastic and the composite bioplastic
The bioplastic elaboration method is based on that described by
Amin [24]. For simple bioplastic, 2.5 g of starch is placed in 250 mL
beaker. Then 20 mL of distilled water, 2 mL of glycerol and 3 mL of HCl
(0.1 M) are successively added. The mixture is stirred with a glass rod for
10 min then heated to 80 ◦ C, in a water bath (JP Selecta, Barcelona,
Spain), while maintaining stirring until a hard-to-stir colloidal solution
Y. Zoungranan et al.
Fig. 1. Biosource harvesting site [29], Katiola for corn F 8128 and Aboisso for cassava TMS 30572.
is formed. An addition of 3 mL of NaOH (0.1 M) is made to reduce the
viscosity of the mixture. The alcohol which is derived from the
fermentable sugars of the starch reacts under the effect of heat with
hydrochloric acid, leading to an alkyl halide. The addition of NaOH
results in the formation of a less viscous unsaturated compound which in
turn reacts with another monomer unit to form the bioplastic.
The beaker is removed from the water bath and its content is spread
at hot to be cooled on a glass plate. The glass plate is then placed in the
oven at 40 ◦ C for 24 h. The plastic film is carefully removed at cold from
the glass plate.
For the composite bioplastic elaboration, the same steps and pro­
portions are used except that instead of adding 20 mL of distilled water
to 2.5 g of starch, 20 mL of the Cola cordifolia’s natural ingredient is
used.
For each experiment about 20 replicates were carried out in order to
check the repeatability and to build up a sufficient stock for the biode­
gradability tests.
2.2. Bioplastics biodegradation
2.2.1. Burying of bioplastics
The burial tests in soil were conducted in polyethylene vials at lab­
oratory temperature (excluding the temperature effect tests). Indeed, in
soils, several types of microorganisms (aerobic, anaerobic, photosyn­
thetic bacteria, archae bacteria and lower eukaryotes) are known to be
responsible for the bioplastics catabolism [31,32]. The burials were
carried out alternately in normal soil, in sterilized soil and in enriched
soil (Fig. 2). The sterile soil was obtained by calcining the normal soil in
a muffle furnace (Nabertherm GmbH, Bremen, Germany) at 550 ◦ C
during 4 h. The soil enrichment with microorganisms was carried out
Fig. 2. Matrices used for the burying of bioplastics.
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Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 8 (2020) 104396
with ox dung, collected in a cattle market. The dung was dried at room
temperature for 72 h and then sieved to obtain a dry dung with a grain
size ≤ 2 mm.
The sample of bioplastic with a known initial mass is wrapped in a
fine polyethylene net with a mesh diameter of about 400 μm and then
buried in the soil. The samples were placed 2 cm from the bottom of the
vial and then covered with soil.
2.2.2. Determination of some soil characteristics
The used soil for the biodegradation tests was collected at 5 cm
depth, in botanical forest of Nangui Abrogoua University (Abidjan, Ivory
Coast). The soil fraction with particles size less than or equal to 2 mm
was selected for the study. To determine soil moisture content, an initial
mass (mi) of sieved soil was dried at 105 ◦ C in the oven for 48 h to obtain
a final constant mass (mf). The moisture content H (%) is given by Eq.
(1).
mi − mf
H (% ) = × 100 (1)
mi
To determine the soil water holding capacity, mass (ms) of sieved and
dried soil was saturated with distilled water to obtain the mass msat. The
water holding capacity of the soil is given by the following expression:
msat − ms
WHC (%) = × 100 (2)
msat
The soil pH was measured by using Forster’s method [33]. The soil
was dried at room temperature during 72 h and then sieved to obtain the
required particles size (≤ 2 mm). The soil and distilled water mixture
was made in a ratio of 1:2 w/v. The mixture is stirred for 3 min and then
filtered under gravity during 15 min. The pH of the filtrate represents
Y. Zoungranan et al.
the pH of the soil, and measured with a pH meter (Hanna HI 9813-5,
Bucharest, Romania).
2.2.3. Estimation of biodegradability
A mass m =0.5 g of the bioplastic sample is weighed using an elec­
tronic analytical balance (Ohaus EX124, Guangzhou, China) and then
wrapped in a fine polyethylene net.
Every 48 hours (72 hours in the assessment of the influence of nat­
ural factors), the bioplastic sample is carefully removed and then dried
at 40 ◦ C in the oven for 5 h. The pH value of the soil after burial is
measured using the Forster method [33] described above. The sample is
weighed again to determine the residual mass m’ the bioplastic. The
biodegradation (%) of the bioplastic is estimated according to equation
below:
For a given value of one influence factor to be evaluated, several
burial vials are required, so that the three individual measurements are
guaranteed and the biodegradation process is not disturbed.
m − m’
Biodegradation (%) = × 100
m
With:
m: the mass of the bioplastic before burial;
m’: the mass of the bioplastic after burial.
2.2.4. Natural factors effect estimating
To assess the effect of temperature on the biodegradability of bio­
plastics, 0.5 g of each type of bioplastic is buried in 30 g of normal soil
and also in 30 g of sterile soil for control test. Total of 15 vials (5 × 3) at a
rate of 3 vials for a given temperature are then placed in a thermostat­
ically controlled sand bath (Ryapa BS-3030, Barcelona, Spain). The
temperatures of 30 ◦ C, 35 ◦ C, 40 ◦ C, 45 ◦ C and 50 ◦ C were set during 72
hours each. The biodegradability of the bioplastic is then estimated.
The assessment of the humidity’s effect was carried out in 15 vials (5
× 3) at a rate of 3 vials for a given humidity of 30 g of normal soil or
sterile soil. The mixture of dry soil and water is performed, to have the
required soil’s moisture content (5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25%). Then,
for given moisture content, 0.5 g of bioplastic is buried during 72 hours.
The biodegradability of the bioplastic is then estimated.
The soil’s microorganism’s influence was studied using also 15 vials
(5 × 3) and 30 g of soil. The normal and the sterile soil were enriched at
10%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% of ox dung. An amount of 0.5 g bioplastic
Fig. 3. Aspect of bioplastics: (a) cassava-based SB, (b) corn-based SB, (c) cassava-based CB, (d) corn-based CB.
Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 8 (2020) 104396
was then buried during 72 h for each enrichment rate. The biodegrad­
ability of the bioplastic was then estimated.
2.3. Data processing
All calculation was performed with Microsoft office Excel 2013
Professional. Mean values and standard deviation were determined from
three individual measurements.
3. Results
3.1. Appearance of bioplastics
The simple and composite bioplastics obtained are presented on
Fig. 3
The simple bioplastics come in the form of flexible and continuous
films. The cassava-based simple bioplastic (Fig. 3-a) is transparent and
white in color, while the corn-based one (Fig. 3-b) is translucent and
(3) pale yellow. The addition of the Cola cordifolia’s natural ingredient gives
a reddish color to the different composite bioplastics. The cassava-based
composite bioplastic is in the form of flexible translucent films, reddish
brown in color. As for the corn-based composite bioplastic, it presents a
rigid, crumbly appearance and a light red color (Fig. 3-d).
3.2. Biodegradability of simple bioplastics
The normal soil used as the burial matrix for the elaborated bio­
plastics in this study, is a grainy black soil with humus. It is character­
ized by a water retention capacity of 28.97%, a relative humidity of
4.66% and a pH of 5.4.
The biodegradability test of simple bioplastics was carried out over
period of 14 days. The burials were carried out in normal soil as well as
in sterile soil, as control test. The results of these tests are presented in
Fig. 4.
Analysis of Fig. 4 shows that, regardless of the considered bioplastic,
burial in the sterile soil presents a very weak degradation. The degra­
dation is, however, very important at the level of burial in normal soil.
Over the entire study period, the cassava-based simple bioplastic
degradation is greater than corn-based one, in both matrices. During
burial, it is also observed that regardless of the bioplastic, soil acidity
increases as shown in Fig. 5. The largest increases are observed with
4
Y. Zoungranan et al.
Fig. 4. Biodegradation (mean ± SD) of the simple bioplastics in the normal soil
and in the sterile soil.
Fig. 5. Evolution of the pH in the normal soil during the burying of simple
bioplastics.
cassava.
3.2.1. Biodegradability of composite bioplastics
The biodegradability tests have also been applied to composite bio­
plastics. The obtained results were compared with those of simple bio­
plastics. Fig. 6 shows the comparative evolution of biodegradation
resulting from these tests.
The Cola cordifolia’s ingredient was found to have a significant effect
Fig. 6. Comparative evolution of biodegradation (mean ± SD) of simple bio­
plastics (SB) and composite bioplastics (CB) in the normal soil.
5
Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 8 (2020) 104396
on the degradation of cassava-based and corn-based bioplastics. Indeed,
the comparison between simple and composite bioplastics shows a clear
improvement in composites degradation induced by the addition of the
Cola cordifolia’s ingredient. The degradation of cassava-based composite
bioplastic remains higher than that of corn-based one.
3.2.2. Effect of relative humidity
The influence of humidity on the degradation of simple and com­
posite bioplastics was evaluated. The results of this evaluation are pre­
sented in Fig. 7. In this figure, it can be noticed that the increase of soil
humidity has an effect on the degradation of bioplastics. Overall, com­
posite bioplastics are more affected by humidity than simple bioplastics.
At 15% moisture content, there is optimal degradation of composites
bioplastics (cassava-based and corn-based) and cassava-based bio­
plastic. Below 15% moisture content, the degradation of cassava-based
bioplastic (simple and composite) increases while that of corn-based
simple bioplastic decreases. Above 15% moisture content, the degra­
dation of cassava-based simple bioplastic decreases. The increase in
humidity very significantly promotes the biodegradability of the corn-
based composite bioplastic up to the 15% limit of the burial soil mois­
ture content.
3.2.3. Effect of soil enrichment
The assessment of the soil’s microorganism enrichment effect, on
biodegradability provided the results shown in Fig.8.Regardless of the
bioplastic; the soil enrichment causes significant degradation up to the
20% enrichment rate. Composite bioplastics are less sensitive to
enrichment than simple bioplastics. Above the 20% enrichment rate, a
decrease in the degradation of bioplastics is observed overall. At 10%
enrichment, corn-based simple bioplastic reaches a degradation of about
78.85% during the 72 hours of burying. Above this 10% enrichment
rate, a decrease in the degradation of this bioplastic is observed. For
cassava-based simple bioplastic, degradation is optimal at 20% enrich­
ment rate.
3.2.4. Effect of temperature
Temperature of the burial matrix is a parameter that can affect the
degradation of bioplastics. The evaluation of its effect has been carried
out and the results are presented in Fig. 9. The analysis of this figure
shows that, regardless of the buried bioplastic, the degradation is sig­
nificant at 30 ◦ C especially for the corn-based simple bioplastic. For
temperatures above 30 ◦ C, a decrease in degradation is observed for all
types of bioplastics.
Fig. 7. Effect of humidity on the biodegradation (mean ± SD) of simple bio­
plastics (SB) and composite bioplastics (CB).
Y. Zoungranan et al.
Fig. 8. Biodegradation (mean ± SD) of simple bioplastics (SB) and composite
bioplastics (CB) as function of enrichment of normal soil.
Fig. 9. Biodegradation (mean ± SD) of simple bioplastics (SB) and composite
bioplastics (CB) as function of the temperature of normal soil.
4. Discussion
In this study, two types of bioplastics (simple and composite) were
elaborated from starch extracted from corn cereals and cassava tubers.
The composite bioplastics were obtained by adding Cola cordifolia’s
ingredient to the starch during the elaboration process.
The Burial in the normal soil and the sterile soil (Fig. 4) has high­
lighted the predominant role of microorganisms in the degradation
process of elaborated bioplastics. Indeed, during the burying period (14
days), regardless of the considered simple bioplastic (cassava-based or
corn-based), decrease in the pH of after burial normal soil, was observed
(Fig. 5). This decrease in soil pH during the burial period shows that
bioplastics undergo a process of biodegradation. During this biodegra­
dation process, microorganisms consume the plastic to produce carbon
dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) as the main degradation by-products
[34]. Solvation of CO2 leads to carbonic acid H2CO3 (aq). However,
this acidification of the soil could reduce the activity of microorganisms
and thus limit the biodegradation of bioplastics [1]. The study revealed a
better biodegradability of cassava-based simple bioplastics compared to
corn-based. This result is confirmed by the relatively high acidity of the
cassava-based burial soil. The significant biodegradability of
cassava-based can be explained by the crystalline structure of the starch.
Indeed, according to Van Soest et al. [12], the crystalline structure of
cassava starch is in the form of double helixes arranged in a hexagonal
system with 36 water molecules. As for corn starch crystalline structure,
it is in a monoclinic system with 8 water molecules per cell. Therefore,
the original moisture content of the starch grain could contribute to
6
Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 8 (2020) 104396
increase the degradation rate of cassava-based simple bioplastic. The
addition of the Cola cordifolia ingredient led to composite bioplastics
that are more biodegradable than simple ones (Fig. 5). This could be
explained by the role of natural ingredient characteristic polymer. This
polymer can take on several conformations that allow it to intercalate
depending on the environment [35]. It is therefore possible that it may
have intercalated into the free volume created by the plasticizer in the
starch grains. The hydrophilicity of this type of polymer could thus
contribute to further degradation of the composite bioplastics and of
course explain the low degradation of the corn-based composite bio­
plastic for which the starch grain already contains fewer water
molecules.
The burial soil humidity influences bioplastics biodegradability. The
study revealed that the biodegradability of the simple corn-based bio­
plastic could be significantly improved with increasing the burial soil
relative humidity. Low moisture content preserves the bioplastic while a
high content promotes microbial growth. This role of humidity on bio­
plastics biodegradability had been observed by Oluwasina et al. [36] in
their study on bioplastics based on oxidized cassava starch. They had
shown that low moisture content retarded the activity of microorgan­
isms. The drop in biodegradation beyond 15% moisture content is due to
excessive dilution. Above this rate, it is possible that the too humid soil
favours an independent mobility of the microorganisms, causing them
difficulties to remain in the vicinity of the bioplastic. An increase in
humidity above this 15 % limit can also have a negative impact on the
survival of the microbial population.
The study revealed that the soil enrichment in microorganisms also
promotes biodegradation up to limit rate. This limit is 10% and 20%,
respectively, for the corn-based simple bioplastic and the other three
bioplastics in the study. Above this maximum rate, the decrease in
biodegradation could be explained by increasing of microbial popula­
tion density. Indeed, a very high number of microorganisms could affect
their mobility and create various mutual interactions between them that
can reduce or limit their access to bioplastics. However, Emadian et al.
[1] in their study on biodegradation of bioplastics in natural environ­
ment observed that, increase in the diversity of microorganisms
improved biodegradability. It is therefore possible that in this study, the
enrichment without microorganism type diversification help to explain
the observed limit rates.
The assessment of the effect of burial soil temperature showed low
biodegradation at elevated temperatures. This result can be explained by
the destructive role of temperature on the microorganisms. However,
Karamanlioglu et al. [37] showed a positive effect of temperature on the
biodegradation of polylactic acid (PLA). It is therefore possible that
temperature affected the density and activity of microorganisms
involved in the biodegradation of simple or composite starch-based
bioplastics.
5. Conclusion
The biodegradability of cassava-based bioplastics is better than that
of maize-based bioplastics under the normal study conditions. The
addition of the natural ingredient extracted from Cola cordifolia to the
initial starch resulted in composite bioplastics with much better biode­
gradability that can be potentially use safe for food packaging. Taking
into account the influence of surrounding biotic and abiotic factors, it
has furthermore been shown that, regardless of the bioplastic consid­
ered, biodegradability can be significantly improved by controlling
some factors such as temperature, humidity and microorganisms
enrichment, of burial matrix. However, the study showed that these
factors can reduce biodegradability above a certain intensity limit.
Above this limit these environmental factors can hinder the biodegra­
dation of bioplastics. A burying matrix that is very wet, or rich in mi­
croorganisms of the same nature, or with a high temperature, does not
promote rapid biodegradation of simple and composite bioplastics based
on corn and cassava starch. Biodegradation of starch-based bioplastics
Y. Zoungranan et al.
leads to soil acidification which can also slow down their
biodegradability.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Yacouba Zoungranan: Writing - original draft, Data curation,
Software. Ekou Lynda: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation.
Kouassi Kouadio Dobi-Brice: Writing - original draft. Ekou Tchirioua:
Supervision. Coulibaly Bakary: Software, Visualization. Dje Daniel
Yannick: Investigation.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
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