Statistical Optimization of Optical Property (Transparency) of Bleached, Oxidized Sucrose Cross-Linked Cassava Starch Film

Abstract

The present environmental pollution caused by non-degradable polymer films has prompted researches into the development of biodegradable polymer films. This study was able to develop a bleached, cross-linked film from native cassava starch. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was added for bleaching to improve the transparency, oxidized sucrose was added for cross-linking and further oxidation while a moderated concentration of glycerol helps to improve the plasticity. In order to have a wider area of application of the film, the transparency was optimized using Box-Benkhen method under the response surface methodology (RSM) in Design Expert 11.0 software. UV-visible spectrophotometer analysis shows that the cassava starch film produced at the above process conditions retained 91.8 % of its transparency after 24 hours water immersion