Producción de un biomaterial a partir de la papa china (Colocasia esculenta) para el embalaje de alimentos

Abstract

In this research project, the production of a biomaterial based on the starch of the Chinese potato (Colocasia esculenta) was carried out, the casting method was used, applying the methodology of the factorial design 2 squared (2k), which consists in the study of two factors that are glycerin (3.2% and 4.2%) and starch (6.5% and 7.5%) represented by low and high levels. Therefore, to determine the factor combinations, the Stat graphics Centurion XVIII program was used, which generated 4 treatments with their respective repetitions. On the other hand, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used in the analysis of results and significant differences were determined by Tukey's test for the purpose of using it as food packaging. For the extraction of the starch, the wet method was used, obtaining a yield of 19.99%. On the other hand, in the characterization of the starch, 30.21% of amylose was obtained, obtaining biomaterials of easy molding, film formation and transparency. In the characterization, it was evidenced that an increase in the concentration of glycerin caused an increase in the moisture content, solubility in water and permeability to water vapor. In mechanical tests, the tensile strength and modulus of elasticity were significantly reduced with the increase of glycerin from 6.36MPa to 1.19MPa and from 42.30MPa to 16.43MPa, respectively. On the contrary, the percentage of elongation is reduced from 15% to 8.57% due to thickness variation. According to the results obtained, it was deduced that the best treatment is T1 as the most suitable for food packaging. To improve the properties of the biomaterial, it is recommended to use additional additives such as sorbitol, polyvinyl alcohol, graphene, among others.