Synthesis of Biocomposite of Kappa Carrageenan and Polyvinyl Alcohol for Bioplastic

Abstract

This research investigates the effect of incorporating kappa carrageenan and chitosan intobiocomposites composed made from kappa carrageenan and polyvinyl alcohol, crosslinked with glutaraldehyde.The objective is to characterize the resulting biocomposites films and determine the optimal formulation basedon mechanical properties and swelling behavior. The film were fabricated using the solution casting method,with varying concentrations of kappa carrageenan (3%, 4%, and 5% w/v) and chitosan (1.32%, 1.76%, and 2.2%w/v). Characterization was performed using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), water absorptiontesting, tensile strength analysis, and elongation measurements. The results showed that the addition of kappacarrageenan improved water resistance and tensile strength. Most biocomposite film samples met the NationalStandard for tensile strength in bioplastic applications, except for the formulations containing 3% kappacarrageenan with 1.76% chitosan and 5% kappa carrageenan with 2.2% chitosan, which did not meet thestandard.