Abstract:
Bio-composites, material or polymer resin, which are produced from bio-based and it can be biodegradable. The use of these material produce bioplastics to replace commodity plastics petroleumbased. In this research, the study of preparation bio-composite films from thermoplastic tapioca starch (TPS) and Water Hyacinth (WH) by casting-solution techniques. TPS composites were prepared using glycerol-urea (GU) mixed plasticizer and water act as solvent at 85 degree Celsius, with WH content varying from 10 to 40 % by weight. From the results showed that the TPS composites with 1020% by weight of WH can be film fabricated and WH uniformly dispersed throughout the TPS matrix. TPS/WH composite films of ratio 80/20 with incorporated 10 pph GU was exhibited good mechanical properties overall when compared to other compounds. In addition, when WH fiber was used as the reinforcement, it produced 10TPS/WH bio-composite films with enhancing moisture resistance compared to 10TPS film. Finally, the physico-chemical properties of soil sample after bio-composite films degraded in soil were investigated. The soil sample was indicated that improve the soil fertility based on the increase of organic matter. The three macronutrients including organic nitrogen, available phosphorus, and available potassium significantly increased.