Thermoplastic potato starch blends and bioplastic films

Starch is one of the most important plant materials for industrial use. However, the problem of water resistance and weak mechanical properties still exists for starch-based bioplastics. In this study, potato starch was plasticized using a glycerol-ethyl citrate compound and blended with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) to obtain a bioplastics with higher strength and lower moisture absorption. Various analytical techniques were employed to characterize the physicochemical properties of bioplastic in this study. The results indicate that the addition of functional additives increased the performance of the starch-based bioplastics.