Effect of Citric acid on properties of Cassava starch foam

Abstract

The effects of citric acid towards the properties of cassava starch foam was studied in this thesis. The influences of crosslinking on cassava starch was described fundamentally. This include the formation of cell sizes, thickness of foam and cell wall thickness was investigated to enhance the understanding of foaming mechanism. The cassava starch foam was prepared by mixing the materials from the formulation created based on the research done. Mixer was used for compounding process then continue to foaming process used an oven with open mold casting method. Morphology of foam’s cell was observed by Dino-lite optical microscopy. The cell size and cell wall thickness was analyzed and measured using Image J software. Density and water adsorption was test done through calculation. While the increasing crosslinking agent also decrease the density however excess amount of it will cause the hydrolysis of starch chains. The result showed, the higher the citric acid loading which act as crosslinking agent, the bigger the cells produced.