Factibilidad del uso de la penca de la pitahaya (selenicereus sp.) Para la obtención de bioplástico en el Cantón Palora, Provincia de Morona Santiago.

Abstract

In the “Parroquia Sangay”, it generates large amounts of solid waste mainly plastic, which are disposed of in a dump near a river affecting water quality. For this reason, the objective of the current research work was to determine the feasibility of using the pitahaya (Selenicereus sp) stalk in order to obtain bioplastic through the use of mucilage extracted from the stalks older than 12 months. The methodology employed a process of homogenization, filtration, double centrifugation and precipitation with 96% alcohol, obtaining a percentage yield of 51.75% of the mucilage. After that, 10 physicochemical properties were characterized: pH (5.04), moisture (96.22%), ash content (1.93%), fat determination (6.23%), water retention capacity (3.31%), bulk density (1.92%), protein determination (11.8%), soluble solids (2.52%), fiber determination (2.85%), and sugar determination (<0.8). For the bioplastic fibers, it applied a randomized experimental design with four treatments and repetitions through the analysis of the single independent variable (pitahaya stalk mucilage), adding additives such as: grenetin, vinegar and glycerin to stabilize the structure and provide moisture to the bioplastic with an agitation of 600 rpm at 80° C during 10 minutes. As a result, the physical-mechanical properties of the bioplastic fibers by INEN Standard in treatments T3 and T4, presented better characteristics in mechanical tests such as: breaking strength (34.75 N), elongation (87.2 mm), water vapor permeability (2.31E-07 g*ℎ-1∗𝑚-1∗𝑀𝑃𝑎-1), thickness (0.033-0.034 mm), humidity (77.69-81.40%), and solubility (5.83-36.82 %). Finally, the established standards determined that the mucilage has suitable characteristics for the formulation of bioplastic, obtaining optimum results within the established parameters.