Impact Analysis of Jackfruit Seed Strach Coating on Acetylated Sorghum Starch Based-Biofoam Synthesis

Abstract

Expanded polystyrene packaging is widely used because of its low cost and light weight, but its poor biodegradability has encouraged further development through incorporation of renewable materials. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of jackfruit seed starch bioplastic coating on the properties of acetylated sorghum starch-based biofoam. Biofoam was prepared using acetylated sorghum starch as the main matrix and both its surfaces were coated with jackfruit seed starch bioplastic at different starch masses of 5, 7.5, 10, and 12.5 g. The samples were produced by thermopressing and characterized for their density, water absorption capacity, biodegradability, compressive strength, functional groups and microstructure. The results showed that the coating improves the structural compactness and compressive strength, but reduces water absorption capacity of the biofoam. The optimum biofoam coating formulation was using 7.5 g jackfruit seed starch, which resulted in the highest density and compressive strength, with the lowest water absorption capacity, while maintaining good biodegradability. FTIR results indicated physical interactions and hydrogen bonding between the coating and biofoam matrix, while SEM confirmed a denser and smoother surface morphology of the biofoam. These findings demonstrate that jackfruit seed starch bioplastic coating is a promising renewable strategy for improving biodegradable foam packaging performance.