Effects of lactic acid as plasticising agent on the mechanical properties of the Polyvinyl alcohol/ oil palm ash blend film

Abstract

According to the high demand in plastic industry, the high production of non-biodegradable plastic may harm the environment. In order to minimize the pollution, the biodegradable plastic is introduced. In this study, the polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) that blend with oil palm ash (OPA) and a plasticizer which lactic acid acted as the biodegradable plastic. The study is to evaluate the effect of lactic acid as a plasticizer on the mechanical properties of the PVA/OPA. It can help the wastage dumping in the oil palm industry. The usage of the lactic acid as plasticizer helps with the quality of the blend film. The objective for this study is to synthesize the PVA/OPA with lactic blend film by solution casting method. The result shows that the sample can be done on a short time with a few conditions specified to maintain the condition of the film samples. Next, the mechanical property test for the blend film which is tensile test. The outcome of the test shows a negative effect as the lactic acid content decreases the tensile strength of the blend film. The last objective is the optimization of the sample by using RSM method. The result shows the linear 3D graph. According to the calculated value for optimization process, it is difficult to obtain the optimization point from the data obtained. In conclusion, the study may show a negative effect but the production of the blend film still can be enhanced by a few other methods and other substances can be used as a plasticizer for a better result.