Valoración de los residuos de ipomoea batatas (camote) para la elaboración de material plástico biodegradable

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) residues for biodegradable plastic materials to create new ecological alternatives to the current indiscriminate use of synthetic plastics. This study uses a mixed-methods approach; first, the raw material gathered from the main market in Riobamba. The material was washed and peeled; then, the starch was extracted using a 2k factorial design with four repetitions, based on the INEN 1456 standard, to achieve the proper treatment. After obtaining the ideal starch, six treatments were formulated, T1(A), T2(B), T3(C), T4(D), T5(E), and T6(F), with different amounts of water, acetic acid and glycerine, the amount of starch was constant; the biofilms obtained were subjected to physicochemical and mechanical tests according to the INEN 2635 standard, and finally, the biodegradability was analysed in three environments for 42 days. The results show that, among the six treatments, T1(A) is the one that presents ideal physicochemical properties (humidity 15.98%, solubility 26.45%, thickness 0.2 mm, water vapour permeability 2.68E- 07 g/h.Mpa.m), the T5(E) is the one with the ideal mechanical properties (12.86n of maximum load, 2.6 mm of maximum displacement, 4.03 MPa of maximum effort, 7.03% of deformation and 2.62 breaks per load). Finally, T6(F) presents the highest percentage of biodegradation at 34.66% in the three environments. In the end, it was concluded that the best treatments for obtaining bioplastic sheets are T1, T4 and T6 due to the characteristics they present. Therefore, it is recommended to analyse new chemical combinations in the production of sweet potato-based biofilms to improve the quality of biofilm properties.