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A science investigatory project conducted by students from Bantayan Science High School on the possibility and efficacy of using Eucheuma spinosum seaweed as a biodegradable plastic. The study involved making bioplastics with varying amounts of seaweed extract and comparing their durability, biodegradability, and water solubility to commercial plastic. The researchers found that the seaweed-based bioplastics had varying properties depending on the amount of seaweed extract used, with Setup C (180 ml of seaweed extract) being the most durable and biodegradable, but least water soluble.
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Ticad, Bantayan, Cebu
Utilization of Seaweed ( Eucheuma spinosum )
as Biodegradable Plastic A Science Investigatory Project Presented by: Salve, Charemy T. Ompad, Johndel Mark G. Areglo, Karl Anthony Balatucan, Donabelle P. Quezon, John Prime
Mrs. Shiela D. Tidoso Adviser
March 2020
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The researchers would like to acknowledge these individuals and to express their gratitude to them. Without these people, the success of this study would not be possible.
First and foremost, the researchers are beholden to their adviser, Mrs. Shiela D. Tidoso for her guidance and pieces of advice throughout the whole study.
The researchers would also like to thank Christian Emmanuel Canete, Jaryl Forrosuelo, Honey Erika Seares, Ace Royette Carabio, Blesyl Marie Pantollana, and Art Negapatan for their cooperation and suggestions in the study. Their ideas made this study even more meaningful. The researchers would also like to express their sincere gratitude with the unwavering support and financial support of their parents.
Above all, to the Almighty God who never cease in guiding and helping throughout the study, an immense thank you.
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TITLE PAGE ..…………………………………………………………………………i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ……………………………………………………………..ii ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………………………iv CHAPTER I: THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE Introduction………………………………………………………………………. Statement of the Problem………………………………………………………… Significance of the Study………………………………………………………… Scope and Limitations……………………………………………………………. Definition of Terms………………………………………………………………. CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Review of Related Literature…………………………………………………4- CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY Methodology…………………………………………………………………7- CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION, AND DISCUSSION Results and Discussions.……………………………………………………11- CHAPTER V: SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS Summary of findings …………………….…………………………………… Conclusion and Recommendations….………………………………………16- REFERENCES ……..………………………………………………………………… APPENDICES A. Appendix A – Computations..………………………………………………19- B. Appendix B – List of Figures………………………………………………27-
Rationale of the Study Plastic has become a fundamental part of our daily lives as a basic need. Its extensive range of application is in wrapping materials, shopping and garbage bags, fluid containers, clothing, household, and industrial products, as well as food packaging. Just little rates of plastic waste are reused and for the most part will be wind up in landfills, shorelines, waterways what's more, seas which cause ecological issues. In our country, much has been written about the Philippines’ plastic pollution problem. Previous studies have ranked the Philippines as the third biggest ocean polluter of plastic. To give an idea of how much plastic that is, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) revealed that for plastic sachet packets alone, Filipinos produce enough waste each year to cover the entire land area of Metro Manila with one foot of plastic. Thus, it is important to raise a solution to this emerging environmental problem. Seaweed are prominent in Bantayan Island, specifically eucheuma spinosum. They are sustainable natural resources with industrial potential that is not fully utilized. In this study, the researchers’ aim to develop a biodegradable plastic through the utilization of seaweed to partially replace petro-based polymers to reduce the emerging sachet economy within the community.
Scope and Limitations The focus of this study is to examine the effectiveness and possibility of alternative biodegradable plastic from the utilization of seaweeds. The study covers up a wide range resources that are highly accessible in our locality such as seaweeds. The researchers limit their study to the comparison between a commercial plastic and seaweed-based biodegradable plastic in terms of the following: i. Durability ii. Water Solubility iii. Biodegradability
Definition of Terms Alginate. cell-wall constituents of brown algae (Phaeophyceae) and a biomaterial that has found numerous applications in biomedical science and engineering due to its favorable properties, including biocompatibility and ease of gelation. Bidegradability. ability of organic substances and materials to be broken down into simpler substances through the action of enzymes from microorganisms. Bioplastic. plastic materials produced from renewable biomass sources. Carrageenan. substance extracted from red and purple seaweeds, consisting of a mixture of polysaccharides. It is used as a thickening or emulsifying agent in food products. Durability. able to exist for a long time without significant deterioration in quality or value. Polymers. plastics and natural materials such as rubber or cellulose are composed of very large molecules. Polysaccharides. a carbohydrate (e.g. starch, cellulose, or glycogen) whose molecules consist of a number of sugar molecules bonded together.
Related Legal Basis
The Republic Act No. of 9512 also known as the “National Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008” encompasses the emphasis of the responsibility of the citizenry in the implementation of public education and awareness, as well as raising environmental protection and conservation through a collaborative interagency. A number of agencies and multi-sectors are ordered to ensure that students receive science-based quality information on environmental issues to encourage the development of environment-friendly solutions, devices, equipment, and facilities. This law serves as a backbone of this study, as it highlights identifying priority environmental knowledge for national action and providing strategic guidance on environmental education projects. In the Republic Act No. 9003 or the “Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000”, two consecutive policies accentuate the need in the formulation and adoption of best environmental practices in ecological waste management and in the promotion of national research and development programs to improve solid waste management and support conservation techniques, more effective institutional arrangement and domestic and enhanced methods of waste reduction, collection, and recovery. The aforementioned legal basis has vital relevance to this research since it is the study’s purpose to advance the use of one of the country’s abundant resources, seaweeds, through investigating and diversifying its potential usage and turning it into an edible food packaging as a strategic way of minimizing waste.
McHugh, 1987; Renn, 1997). However, even though the usage of seaweed is prominent in the industry, it is still a bioresource that’s not yet utilized to its maximum potential. Moreover, the use of renewable resources, including seaweed-based biopolymers to produce biopolymer films and coatings has gained significance with the increasing of consumers’ concern on high-quality and long-shelf-life-products and their awareness of environmental issues.
Related Studies
The research study conducted by Abdul Khalil et al. (2017) reviews the basic information and recent developments of both seaweed and cellulose biopolymer materials as well as analyses the feasible formation of seaweed/cellulose composite films. In his study, he showed how seaweed and cellulose both exhibit interesting film-forming properties. Nevertheless, seaweed has poor water vapor barrier and mechanical properties, whereas cellulose is neither meltable nor soluble in water or common organic solvents due to its highly crystalline structure. Therefore, modification of this film has been done to exploit their useful properties. The blending of biopolymers is a must recommended approach to improve the desired characteristics. From the review, seaweed is well compatible with cellulose, which possesses excellent mechanical strength and water resistance properties. Moreover, seaweed/cellulose composite films can prolong a product’s shelf life while maintaining its biodegradability. Additionally, the films show potential in contributing to the bioeconomy.
The experiment, specifically, the preparation of materials and edible film making was carried out at a residence in Suba, Bantayan, Cebu.
Seaweed (guso) Saucepan/pot Laddle Glycerin Polyvinyl Alcohol Tablespoon Distilled Water Blender Measuring cup Wire Mesh Strainer
remain, the wire mesh strainer was placed over the container for storing the extract. The pot was carefully emptied into the strainer. The strainer sat for 5 minutes. Then it was gently press with the back of a spoon. III. Boiling Process and Blending Process A mixture of 100 ml of water, seaweed extract (60 ml, 120 ml, 180 ml), one tablespoon of glycerin and 30 ml of polyvinyl alcohol was placed into the saucepan. A laddle was used to stir the mixture. Afterwards, a blender was used to thoroughly incorporate the components. 80 ml of the blended mixture was put into the saucepan and was warmed up under a medium heat until it thickened. IV. Drying Process The mixture stayed in the saucepan until it solidified and then it was slowly peeled from the pan and it was placed in a plate. It took 10 hours for the mixture to completely dry.
Phase II. Tests for Physical Properties A. Biodegrability In the biodegrability test the seaweed-based bioplastic (with a measurement of 4 inches by 4 inches) was put on the ground to observed its biodegrability from three factors, the soil, air and sunlight. The duration of the biodegrability test lasted for 5 days. B. Durability In this test, the researchers made a small packaging using the Setup A, Setup B, Setup C, and Setup D (with a size of a 2 inches by 2 inches) and then an object was placed inside. Initially, 50 grams of sugar granules were put inside all of them were lifted at a height of 2 feet for 1 minute. After, another 50 grams
of sugar granules were added to the packaging and then it was lifted again at a height of 2 feet and a timer was set to know the how long can each setup withstand the weight of the object. C. Water Solubility Each bioplastic from seaweed (Set Up A, Set Up B, Set Up C) and commercial plastic (Set Up D) were put in a container filled with 2 cups of water and then a timer was set to find out how much time does it take for each set up to dissolve and which of them dissolves the fastest.
Table 1.2 The ANOVA Table of the Durability of the Plastics
Source ofVariation Sum of Square df Mean Square F
Between 6 3 2 0 Within 0 8 0 Total 6 11 The ANOVA table shows the F (^) computed value which is 0 and in comparison to the F (^) tabular value which is 4.07, it is apparent that the F tabular value is greater than the F computed value. The null hypothesis is accepted and there is no significant difference between the durability of the products in all setups. It implies that setups A (60 ml of seaweed extract) , B (120 ml of seaweed extract) , C (120 ml of seaweed extract), D (Commercial Plastic) have little/no distinction in terms of durability.
Table 2. Evaluation of the Biodegradable Plastics and Commercial Plastic’s Solubility
Set Up Trial Mean 1 2 3 A (60 ml of seaweed extract) 4 4 4 4 B (120 ml of seaweed extract)
C (180 ml of seaweed extract)
D (Commercial Plastic) 1 1 1 1
Table 2 shows the data of the result from the evaluation of the water solubility of the plastics wherein, Setup A (60 ml of seaweed extract) and B (120 ml of seaweed extract) has a mean score of 4 which indicates that these products are capabale of dissolving in water.
Setup C (180 ml of seaweed extract) has a mean score of 3, this implies that it’s solubility is average and Setup D (Commercial Plastic) with a score of 1 which means that it is not soluble.
Table 2.2 The ANOVA Table of the Water Solubility of the Plastics
Source of Variation Sum of Square df Mean Square F
Between 18 3 6 0 Within 0 8 0 Total 18 11 The ANOVA table shows the F (^) computed value which is 0 and in comparison to the F (^) tabular value which is 4.07, it is apparent that the F^ tabular value is greater than the F^ computed value. The null hypothesis is accepted and there is no significant difference between the water solubility of the products in all setups. It implies that setups A, B, C, D have no distinction in terms of water solubility.
The study was conducted to determine the possibility and efficacy of seaweed (eucheuma spinosum) as biodegradable plastic. Four setups were included; A (60 ml of seaweed extract), B (120 ml of seaweed extract), C (180 ml of seaweed extract) are setups with varying amount of seaweed and setup D is the commercial plastic. This chapter presents the summary of the findings, the conclusion and the recommendations for further development of the study. Summary of Findings These are the main points of the results in the previous chapter based on the ratings on the determining factors of the possiblity and efficacy of seaweed as bioplastic. i. In the durability of the products, there is a significant difference between the products in all setups. It was determined that among the setups, Setup C and D (Commercial Plastic) were rated as very durable as it can hold the object (50 g and 100 g of sugar granules) at a duration of greater than 241 seconds or 5 minutes (Setup C; 32 minutes and Setup D; more than an hour) considering that their size is only 2 inches by 2 inches, followed by Setup B which has also a size of 2 inches by 2 inches was rated as durable as it can hold the object in 240 seconds or 4 minutes. Lastly, Setup A which has also a size of 2 inches by 2 inches was rated as the least durable among them as it can only hold the object for about 121- seconds.
ii. In the water solubility of the products, there is a significant difference between the products in all setups. It was determined that among the setups, Setup A and B are the most soluble as they dissolved in water in just 48 hours, followed by Setup C which was evaluated to have an average rating as it dissolved in water in 72 hours. Lastly, Setup D was rated as the least soluble among them as it cannot dissolve in water. All the setups have the same size which is 2 inches by 2 inches.
iii. In the biodegradability of the products, there is a significant difference between the products in all setups. It was determined that Setup A has the least needed time to decay, therefore it is the most biodegradable among the four setups. It was followed by Setup B and then Setup C and D got the same rating.
Conclusion Based on the results of the study, the following conclusions were drawn: i. Among the three setups that used seaweed, Setup C (180ml of seaweed extract) was the most durable, followed by Setup B (120 ml of seaweed extract) and Setup C (60ml of seaweed extract). It was concluded that as the amount of seaweed extract used increases, its durability also increases. Considering that these seaweed-based bioplastics only have glycerin and polyvinyl alcohol to enhance its strength, it is somewhat understandable that they don't have the same level of durability with the commercial plastic, however, the researchers believe that for the seaweed-based bioplastics' utilization to be expanded into a variety of applications it needs more improvement.
