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Researchtitledefense
Researchtitledefense
Researchtitledefense
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Background of the Study
In today’s Covid 19 pandemic, one step toward risk reduction is the
use of a face mask, which is designed to prevent respiratory droplets from
being transmitted from one another. It is a must to use it as a barrier between
yourself and your surroundings. As a result, the demand for surgical and
medical face masks has risen. Locally available face masks are typically made
of cotton and polyester, but despite its utility, plastic can have an impact on
the environment. According to Tacio (2009), the decaying rate of a single
plastic can take 1-1000 years, and the slow progression of its decaying rate
can likely affect and cause environmental problems such as pollution from
land, waterways, and the ocean, which can lead to animal suffocation
(Lajeunesse 2009).
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Face masks made of non-biodegradable materials could thus amplify the
preceding phenomenon. According to the problem, the development of
biodegradable face masks could be one of the solutions in providing aid to the
said problems. The introduction of waste material in the Philippines is rapidly
increasing, and it is also responsible for economic problems (Fedepeedia 2015).
Banana Pseudostem is an example of waste material. Banana plants are native to
Southeast Asia’s Malaysia-Indonesian region and are members of the Musaceae
family. Bananas are widely grown and abundant in tropical and subtropical
regions worldwide. Banana plants are widely considered to be among the most
valuable plants on the planet. Almost every part of this plant, including the fruit,
peel, leaf, pseudo-stem, stalk, and inflorescence, can be used (flower). They are
utilized as thickeners colorants, and flavoring, macro- and micronutrient supplies,
livestock feed, fibers, bioactivechemical sources, and organic fertilizers in a
variety of food and non-food applications. The banana pseudo-stem has also been
proposed as a pulp and paper raw material, textile fiber, andfiller or structural
reinforcement in composite materials.
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The banana plant’s pseudo-stem fiber issimilar to pineapple leaf, sisal, and
other hard fibers, however it is a little more elastic. The banana pseudo-hollow stem’s
form suggests that the fiber will be good at insulating and absorbing moisture.